Transnational Perspectives on Innovation in Teaching and Learning Technologies [1 ed.] 9789004366077, 9789004366053

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Transnational Perspectives on Innovation in Teaching and Learning Technologies

Transnational Perspectives on Innovation in Teaching and Learning Technologies Edited by

Emmanuel Jean-Francois

leiden | boston

All chapters in this book have undergone peer review. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Jean-Francois, Emmanuel, 1971- editor. Title: Transnational perspectives on innovation in teaching and learning technologies / edited by Emmanuel Jean-Francois. Description: Boston : Brill Sense, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2018002200 (print) | LCCN 2018010963 (ebook) | ISBN 9789004366077 (E-book) | ISBN 9789004366053 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9789004366060 (hardback : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Educational innovations. | Education--Effect of technological innovations on. Classification: LCC LB1027 (ebook) | LCC LB1027 .T668 2018 (print) | DDC 371.33--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018002200

Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface. isbn 978-90-04-36605-3 (paperback) isbn 978-90-04-36606-0 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-36607-7 (e-book) Copyright 2018 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi, Brill Sense and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.

Contents Acknowledgments vii Notes on Contributors viii 1 Introduction: Transnational Perspectives on Innovation in Teaching and Learning Technologies 1 Emmanuel Jean-Francois

Part 1 Transnational African Perspectives 2 Addressing Learners’ Individual Needs with Turnitin 15 Eva Sujee 3 Electronic-Portfolio Approach to Enhance Self-Directed Learning 45 Maynard van Breda and Michael van Wyk

Part 2 Transnational Asian and Middle East Perspectives 4 On or Off-Line: Dilemmas in Using Online Teaching-Learning in In-Service Teacher Education 69 Orly Sela 5 The FOBI-P4 Innovative Approach for Kindergarten Dual Language Learners in the China, Canada, United States English Immersion (CCUEI) Research Collaborative A Case Study 89 Mary Barbara Trube and Rong Yan 6 Innovative Teaching, Learning and Technologies for Transformation of Thai Higher Education toward Outcome-Based Education 118 Krittika Tanprasert

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Part 3 Transnational European Perspectives 7 Academic Professionalization and Transnationalization – Comparative Studies in Adult and Lifelong Learning (COMPALL) 141 Sabine Schmidt-Lauff, Franziska Semrau and Regina Egetenmeyer 8 Facilitating Social and Personal Growth with Simple Things 155 Jule Hildmann

Part 4 Transnational Latin American Perspectives 9 Capacity Building in Low Resource Settings through Continuous Medical Education in Health, Using E-Learning and Medical Simulation Successful Experience from Ecuador 181 Enrique Teran, Michelle Grunauer and Gustavo Molina 10 Letting Go of Teacher Power: Innovative Democratic Assessment 200 María Dolores Lasso

Part 5 Transnational North American Perspectives 11 Deliberative Dialogue as a Teaching/Learning Experience in Higher Education An Application in Some Human Services Classroom Practices 227 Fonkem Achankeng I 12 Smart Glasses as Digital Strategy for Learning in Higher Education 242 Deborah Schreiber and Laura Hyatt 13 Different Voices: Guest Speakers as Pedagogy in a Culture Class 262 Kaishan Kong 14 Using Technology to Provide Higher Education for Refugees 285 Natasha Boškić, Thomas J. Sork, Rita Irwin, Samson Nashon, Cynthia Nicol, Karen Meyer and Sharon Hu

Acknowledgments The ideas expressed in this volume result from the work, experience, dedication, and assistance of a variety of people representing the main regions of the world either as contributors, reviewers, copy editors, or cheerleaders. Therefore, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the following contributors based on their current region of residence: Deborah Schreiber (North America), Egetenmeyer Regina (Europe), Enrique Teran (Latin America), Eva Sujee (Africa), Fonkem Achankeng (North America), Jule Hildmann (Europe), Kaishan Kong (North America), Krittika Tanprasert (Asia and Middle East), Laura Hyatt (North America), María Dolores Lasso (Latin America), Mary Barbara Trube (North America), Maynard van Breda (Africa), Michael van Wyk (Africa), Natasha Boškić (North America), Orly Sela (Asia and Middle East), Rong Yan (Asia and Middle East), Schmidt-Lauff Sabine (Europe), Semrau Franziska (Europe), and Thomas J. Sork (North America). The quality of the chapters would have been compromised without the blind reviews of scholars from various regions of the world. Consequently, I would like to confirm my gratitude to Drs. William Lewandowski (North America), Shawowen Yang (Asia and Middle East), Faaizah Rosli (Asia and Middle East), Alex Mulenga (Africa), Becky Coates (Europe), Allan Jefferson (North America), Peter Mwendia (Africa), Mariana Delgado (Latin America), Helena Lickova (Europe), Pedro Vazques (Latin America), Cecilia Jacinto (Latin America), Luka Oboko (Africa), and Melanie Brezinski (North America), for accepting to serve as reviewers for the chapter proposals and later the chapters related to specific regions of the world. Finally, I am grateful to Kristin Diki who has helped with the copy editing of some chapters, my family who is always supportive, and the wonderful staff of Brill | Sense who are very easy to work with.

Notes on Contributors Fonkem Achankeng is an Assistant Professor of Human Services Leadership at University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. Dr. Fonkem earned a PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Nova Southeastern University and a master’s in the same field from Antioch University, Yellow Springs, Ohio. In addition to having served as a Fulbright scholar in 1995/96 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, he has over 20 years of experience as Executive Director of the Association for Nonviolence, diplomatic experience in the Foreign Ministry of Cameroon, and has been actively engaged in scholarly teaching, publishing, and public presentations on social issues both in the US and abroad. Most recently, Dr. Fonkem received the Chic Nichol Essay Award for Best Article in the April 2009 edition of The Mediation Journal. Natasha Boškić leads the Educational Technology Support unit in the Faculty of Education at University of Bristish Columbia (UBC). She teaches as a sessional lecturer in the Master of Educational Technology program. Natasha’s specific focus is on online collaborative and communication strategies, student engagement, different delivery models and culturally-responsive instruction. She has managed various projects in the area of e-learning, locally in Canada and internationally. Regina Egetenmeyer is professor of adult and continuing education at Julius Maximilian University Würzburg (Germany). Since 2014, she is visiting professor at the International Institute for Lifelong Education in Delhi/Inia. She works on issues of professionalization in adult education, lifelong education and learning, educational policies and internationalcomparative adult education. Regina Egetenmeyer has done several internationally comparative studies with a focus on both Europe and Asia. She is the author of more than 90 papers (mainly in German and English) and has won grants for the development of innovative teaching projects in which she focuses on the relations of academic knowledge and educational practice. Since 2014, Regina Egetenmeyer has organized the annual international Winter School “Comparative Studies in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning,” which brings together over 90 international students in adult education at the University of Würzburg. Michelle Grunauer MD, PhD, received her MD from Central University of Ecuador and then got a specialist degree in Critical Care and in Pulmonology by the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil.

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Dr. Grunauer got her MSc at the University of Birmingham in the UK and her PhD at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. She has also more than 20 years involved in teaching and research activities and during the last 5 years is the Dean at the School of Medicine. Doctor Grunauer has been responsible for pediatric training courses like the APLS and designed and implemented laude program in pediatric critical care. Jule Hildmann is a trained teacher in special education in Germany. Her second line of profession is OAE and Epäd with a range of qualifications in outdoor pursuits as well as facilitation, counselling, etc. Next to years of working in team development, she has also been training OAE facilitators on a range of topics for nearly a decade now. Jule Hildmann received her PhD from the Ludwigs-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany, on E_p_äd_ _in the classroom. Since 2013, she has been Research and Teaching Fellow at the Outdoor Environmental Education Unit of the University of Edinburgh, UK. Sharon Hu helps instructors design, develop and deliver online courses and manages projects from proposal to readiness for course delivery. She also delivers staff and faculty learning initiatives in online and blended learning environments and supports the planning of educational programs. Laura Hyatt is a Professor in the Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership Program at the University of La Verne. She is also an affiliate faculty of the doctoral program at Pepperdine University where she earned her masters and doctorate degrees. A native of California, her prior experience includes serving as vice president of education for a production company where she was part of a collaborative effort honored by the entertainment industry with the coveted Telly Award. In addition to her current academic position, she accepts a limited number of professional engagements and is often called upon by state and federal administrations as an adviser for policy issues including participation on an Advisory Group to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. and an appointment to a White House Conference by the President of the United States. She has written numerous publications including journal articles, book chapters, and serves on editorial boards for peer-reviewed journals. Recently, she authored The Dynamic Narrative Approach, a contemporary research method intended to engage the past and present to inform the future. Via technology, this method incorporates elements of the ancient Asian storytelling traditions and postmodern constructionist theories to advance research and learning in collective. Dr. Hyatt was awarded a grant from the California Endowment to support her research and was honored by the University of La Verne Academy with

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the Scholars Award for research and publication. Her research is mainly situated in higher education and focuses on the intersections of learning and change, and the powerful climates created by our convergent stories as individuals, organizations, and communities. Rita L. Irwin is a Professor of Curriculum Studies and Art Education, and former Associate Dean of Teacher Education. Rita has been an educational leader for a number of provincial, national and international organizations including being President of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education, Canadian Association of Curriculum Studies and the Canadian Society for Education through Art, and is the current President of the International Society for Education through Art. Her research interests have spanned in-service art education, teacher education, socio-cultural issues, and curriculum practices across K-12 and informal learning settings. Rita publishes widely, exhibits her artworks, and has secured a range of research grants, including a number of Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada grants to support her work in Canada, Australia, Taiwan, and beyond. Her most recent co-edited books include Revisions: Readings in Canadian Art Teacher Education (co-edited with Kit Grauer and Mike Emme) and Being with A/r/tography (co-edited with Stephanie Springgay, Carl Leggo, and Peter Gouzouasis). Rita is an artist, researcher, and teacher deeply committed to the arts and education. In recognition of her many accomplishments and commitments, she has received a number of awards for her scholarship, service and teaching including the distinction of Distinguished Fellow of the National Art Education Association in the USA, the Ted T. Aoki Award for Distinguished Service in Canadian Curriculum Studies (CACS), the Canadian Art Teacher of the Year Award (CSEA) and the Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring (UBC). Emmanuel Jean-Francois is Associate Professor of Comparative and International Education at Ohio University. He is the Coordinator of the Doctoral program in Educational Administration/ Leadership, as well as the doctoral specialization in Comparative and International Educational Leadership. His most recent books include: Perspectives in Transnational Higher Education (2016), Building global education with a local perspective: An introduction to global higher education (2015), Financial sustainability for nonprofit organizations (2014), Trans-cultural blended learning and teaching in post-secondary education (2012), DREAM model to start a small business (2011), and Global education on trial by U.S. college professors (2010). He is the Editor-in-Chief of the peer reviewed journal The African Symposium, the Chair of the African Educational Research Network (AERN), and he is the Past-President of the Transnational Education and Learning Society (TELS).

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Kaishan Kong is an Assistant Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She currently teaches Chinese Language and Culture, Foreign Culture and Civilization and Second Language Acquisition. Her research interests include language and culture teaching pedagogies, intercultural communication and teacher training. She has published and presented multiple projects with a focus on cultural learning and study abroad. With her study and research experiences in China, England and the US, she is a multicultural and multilingual scholar with a passion to enhance cultural learning through personal stories and interactive communication. María Dolores Lasso is currently a PhD in Education candidate at New Mexico State University. She obtained her Master in Education degree from Boston University and an Elementary Education undergraduate degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. She has been a teacher educator in Ecuador for more than a decade. She used to be an elementary Math and Science teacher for 15 years. She is currently the Head of the Curriculum Development office at Universidad San Francisco de Quito-USFQ providing support and advice to different academic areas in curriculum development and teaches in USFQ’s Education undergraduate and graduate programs. Karen Meyer teaches at the University of British Columbia, Canada. In the last few years, Karen Meyer has been working with teachers in Dadaab Refugee Camp in Northeastern Kenya, connecting research, teaching and writing. As a member of a research team and Teacher Education Program in Dadaab, Meyer grasps the urgency of “emergency” education given the challenges, perilous and long term, of displaced communities. Gustavo Molina received his MD and a degree as specialist in Gynecology and Obstetrics by the Central University of Ecuador. Then Dr. Molina obtained his MSc in Teaching and Educational Research at the Catholic University of Ecuador and currently is a PhD candidate in Educational Sciences at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario in Argentina. He has also been involved for more than 20 years in teaching and research and has been responsible for design, development and implementation of several on-line training programs. Samson Madera Nashon EdD, obtained his doctorate from OISE/University of Toronto. He is an Associate Professor of Science Education in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP) at The University of British Columbia. He teaches ETEC 530: Constructivist Strategies

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for e-Learning. His research focuses on ways of teaching and learning generally and, in particular, students’ alternative understandings that have roots in cultural backgrounds and curricula, and are accommodative of students with varying degrees of abilities. His research uses primarily contemporary theories of constructivism. Cynthia Nicol is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy in the UBC Faculty of Education. She lived and taught on Haida Gwaii in B.C.’s Pacific Northcoast before moving to Vancouver to pursue her doctoral studies. With teachers and communities she is exploring new ways of making mathematics responsive to all learners by connecting math, community and culture, emphasizing place and community-based education, and exploring social justice issues through mathematics. Her current projects focus on researching ways to support teachers interested in more culturally responsive teaching practices. This includes practices to better understand Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relationships. This also includes working with teachers in the Dadaab refugee camp, Northeast Kenya, to better understand what it means to live, learn and teach in Dadaab the largest protracted refugee camp in the world. As Principal Investigator of this project she is committed to working across cultures and contexts to better understand and improve opportunities for ongoing teacher learning in some of the world’s most challenging conditions. Sabine Schmidt-Lauff is professor of continuing education and lifelong learning at Helmut Schmidt University/ University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg (Germany). She has carried out diverse policy analyses on lifelong learning and is an expert on learning times and time policies for lifelong learning. Sabine Schmidt-Lauff earned her PhD at the University of Hamburg and performed research at Humboldt-University in Berlin. From 2008 to 2016, she was professor of adult and continuing education at Technical University of Chemnitz. Sabine Schmidt-Lauff is involved in various European and international networks and works as a guest lecturer in the Netherlands, Finland, South Africa, and India. She is the author of more than 110 papers and publications (national and international). Deborah A. Schreiber is an Associate Professor of Organizational Leadership at the University of Laverne, U.S. Orly Sela is a senior lecturer at Oranim Academic College of Education, situated in northern Israel, where she teaches various courses in both the B.A. and the M.Ed. programs. She also serves as Head of the Unit of Teaching Excellence as well as the Head of the Unit of Final Papers and Theses in the M.Ed. program.

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Franziska Semrau was a master’s student in education at Technische Universität Chemnitz. She works in adult and vocational education and has worked as student assistant at the professorship for adult and continuing education at Technische Universtität Chemnitz (Prof. Schmidt-Lauff). Her research interests are international adult education, professionalization in adult education, research on adult educational programmes. Thomas J. Sork is a professor in the Adult Learning and Education group at University of Bristish Columbia (UBC) and specializes in educational planning and international collaboration. He was involved in the planning and implementation of a fully online, four-university master’s program focusing on Adult Learning and Global Change which has enrolled students from more than 25 countries. For eight years, he was also the academic director of UBC’s Master of Educational Technology program, the largest graduate program in the Faculty of Education. Eva Sujee is currently the Deputy Director in the Research Department at SAQA. She was a lecturer (Multiliteracies, Classroom instruction and Literacy practices) in the Humanities Education Department at the University of Pretoria. Her research field is in languages and specifically the use of technology to differentiate in a language classroom. Krittika Tanprasert is an Assistant Professor in Packaging at the Department of Printing and Packaging Technology, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT). She is also currently serving as a Deputy Director of the Learning Institute at the same university. She has earned her Ph.D. and M.S. from the School of Packaging, Michigan State University. Her expertise and interest since her graduation has been in the area of food packaging and packaging development. Her other that evolves during the course of working at the university is human resource development, which covers wide ranges of target ranging from high school students, university students, and workforce particularly in higher education and printing and packaging industry. She has worked on STEM education, enhancing the effectiveness of teaching & learning in higher education as well as occupational standards for Thailand Professional Qualification Framework. Enrique Teran received his MD from Central University of Ecuador and his PhD from University College London in the UK. He has been dedicated for more than 20 years to research and teaching activities at the School of Medicine in the Universidad San Francisco de

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Quito, where is an Associate Professor. During the last three years, Dr. Teran has been the Director of the Medical Simulation Hospital and responsible for the continuous education in health programs. Since then, he has taken several courses on virtual classroom building and e-learning methodologies, as well as simulation scenarios development. Mary Barbara Trube Professor of Education at Ohio University, Chillicothe Campus, has been a teacher educator and mentor for more than thirty years. Dr. Trube earned an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from The University of Texas at Austin, and an Adult/ International Teachers of English as a Second Language Certificate from the University of Cincinnati, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr. Trube is an active member of the China, Canada, English Immersion (CCUEI) Research Collaborative and the FOBI English Immersion Project. Her research interests include international education, curriculum development, and mentoring. Maynard van Breda is a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology of Education at the University of South Africa (Unisa). He has a range of academic and professional experience from secondary schools to institutions of Higher Learning in South Africa. His current research interests include: educational psychology, learning, child and adolescent development, school refusal, and school inclusivity. He has presented papers at local and international academic and professional conferences and published papers in accredited and peer reviewed scientific journals. Michael van Wyk is a Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies in College of Education, Unisa. He is a National Research Foundation rated researcher in Economics Education. He has published more than 42 research papers in accredited scientific journal, read more than 50 papers at national and international academic conferences, written six academic books and ten chapters in research books over the past eight years. In 2010 Michael received an award for an Outstanding Research paper at an international Conference, Dublin, Ireland. In 2013 he was awarded the prestigious Unisa Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research. Michael is the editor-in-chief of the African Journal of Pedagogy and Curriculum. Rong Yan is a Professor in the School of English Language, Literature and Culture at Beijing International Studies University. He obtained his Ph.D. from the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. With more than 15 years of teaching and research experiences in bilingual education TESOL, he has published 5 books and

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over 30 articles. As the Dean of the BISU Research Center for Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, Dr. Yan has led more than 10 research projects. Dr. Yan is the director for the Beijing-based FOBI English Immersion project in various Chinese Kindergarten approaches.

chapter 1

Introduction: Transnational Perspectives on Innovation in Teaching and Learning Technologies Emmanuel Jean-Francois Innovative practices related to scholarship of teaching and learning occur inside and outside of classrooms in formal and non-formal educational institutions located in various countries across the world. Teaching strategies and learning technologies that are being used in cultural and national contexts support innovative curriculum and instructional activities. The interplay among innovative teaching-learning strategies and technologies across cultural and national borders has transnational facets that can inform the activities of both scholars and practitioners. The transnational facets of such innovative teaching-learning strategies and technologies have implications to foster creativity, transformative learning, and more efficient and effective learning outcomes, especially for learners with diverse backgrounds. This volume intends to feature such transnational facets based on chapters that include theoretical and practical insights from various regions of the world. Strategies and technologies of teaching and learning are being used across the world in various unique national and cultural contexts. Some of these strategies and technologies are unique to specific nation-states and cultures. Some of them have been used globally, but with local adaptation. The purpose of this publication is to highlight patterns with transnational applications or facets that are nationally or culturally situated. This explains the intent behind the title of this volume Transnational Perspectives on Innovation in Teaching and Learning Technologies. The concept transnational is used to refer to “actions, practices, or contacts that extend or go beyond national boundaries” (Jean-Francois, 2016, p. 3). A “transnational perspective on innovation in teaching and learning technologies”, at its core, focuses on: – Innovativeness: What makes a teaching or learning strategy or technology innovative? – Conceptual or theoretical framework: What extant literature, conceptual or theoretical framework informed such innovative teaching or learning strategy or technology? © koninklijke brill nv, leideN, 2018 | DOI 10.1163/9789004366077_001

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– National context: What are the social, economic, cultural, or even political contexts of the education system within which the innovative teaching or learning strategy or technology occurred or is occurring? – Evidence: What evidence suggests that such innovative learning or teaching strategy or technology is effective? – Transnationalness: In what other national or social or cultural contexts that such innovative learning or teaching strategy or technology (a) has already been applied, or (b) is applicable?

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About the Volume

The volume includes five sections, reflecting perspectives from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and North America. This ensures that the volume as a whole provides perspectives on innovation in teaching strategies and learning technologies that are transnational. Part 1, “Transnational African Perspectives” includes two chapters: Chapter 2, “Addressing learners’ individual needs with Turnitin” by Eva Sujee (South African Qualifications Authority [SAQA], South Africa) and Chapter 3, “Electronic-portfolio approach to enhance self-directed learning” by Maynard van Breda (University of Cape Town, South Africa). Chapter 2 shows how Turnitin can be used as an effective formative assessment tool. This is an innovative teaching practice that can be utilized in any module or subject to help learners know where they need to improve and develop new behaviors to engage in authentic writing as opposed to plagiarism. Sujee’s study that inspired this chapter reported that learners reflect on their individual mistakes; and such reflection helps them learn from their mistakes by actively engaging them in their individual written corrective feedback (WCF). Chapter 3 explains the extent to which an e-portfolio can be used as a tool to create innovation and creativity in teaching and learning, and enhance students’ self-directed learning and professional development. More specifically, the chapter addresses questions such as: What is the existing knowledge base on e-portfolios and particularly in an Open Distance and electronic Learning (ODeL) environment? How can academics be advised to balance technology in using an e-portfolio as a multi-model evidence-based strategy in teacher education programs? To what extent can the tension between technology and the e-portfolio as a non-venue based summative examination be managed? How best can students be assisted in creating deep and meaningful learning opportunities by using the e-portfolio in order to enhance self-directed learning? In which scenarios could e-portfolios be used most effectively as a

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strategy of alternative assessment? Which assessment strategies can be used for e-portfolios? Part 2 provides transnational Asian and Middle East perspectives through Chapter 4 “On or off-line: Dilemmas in using online teaching-learning in inservice teacher education”, Chapter 5, “The FOBI-P4 approach for kindergarten dual language learners in China”, and Chapter 6, “Innovative teaching, learning and technologies for transformation of Thai higher education toward outcome-based education”. In Chapter 4, Sela discusses the dilemma of using online courses with a traditional female student population in a teacher education program aimed at in-service teachers from a traditional society. More specifically, the chapter concerns a Language Teaching program offered to teachers of Hebrew, Arabic or English as an additional language in a Teacher Education college in northern Israel. The concerns raised in this chapter are relevant to academics and administrators in many countries. Chapter 5 by Mary Barbara Trube (Ohio University) and Rong Yan (Beijing International Studies University, China) was inspired by a Chinese project that aimed to create greater opportunities for children and women through education in the English language based on the French immersion model in Canada: The Chinese immersion project or the China-Canada-United States English Immersion (CCUEI) research collaborative. The chapter focuses on the English Immersion (EI) curriculum and pedagogy for the interests, on the interests, and by the interests of children, known as FOBI-EI. In Chapter 6, Krittika Tanprasert (King Mongkutt’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand) shares the introduction and implementation of outcomebased education in Asia during the last ten years. The focus is particularly on the Southeast Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand. The chapter explains how these countries managed or are navigating to adjust from a traditional lecture and a summative assessment to a more active learning and assessment that constructively align with the outcomes. Some examples of teaching and learning techniques, as well as the technology that have been used in Thai higher education, are also discussed. Part 3 offers transnational European perspectives in Chapter 7, “Academic professionalization and transnationalisation: Comparative Studies in Adult and Lifelong Learning (COMPALL)” and Chapter 8, “Facilitating social and personal growth with simple things”. In Chapter 7, Schmidt-Lauff, Semrau, and Egetenmeyer discuss the innovativeness of the ongoing ERASMUS+ Strategic Partnership COMPALL (Comparative Studies in Adult and Lifelong Learning program). The program aims to build and support strategic partnerships between different European universities for international and even transnational

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oriented academic ways for professionalization in lifelong learning. The focus of curricula (in high schools and universities), programs of study, and academic professionalization are based on national frameworks, with a strong influence of the European policy. The chapter includes students’ insights and experiences. In Chapter 8, Hildmann presents Erlebnispädagogik (Epäd), which is an educational approach related to outdoor adventure and experiential education (OAE), in order to promote social and personal growth in informal education. It uses mainly outdoor settings and activities to alleviate extensive financial and logistic demands that sometimes equipment and transport pose for instructors. The chapter discusses the degree to which the simple things may be used in a regular classroom setting, relying solely on the conditions that were in place. Part 4 includes transnational Latin American perspectives through Chapter 9, “Capacity building in low resource settings through continuous medical education in health, using e-learning and medical simulation: Successful experience from Ecuador” and Chapter 10, “Letting go of teacher power: Innovative democratic assessment”. In Chapter 9, Teran shares a successful experience regarding the implementation of an innovative learning method in Ecuador, which is a country on its way to industrialization, where funds are limited and training demands are high, but manages to increase health professionals’ competence and capacity building. In Chapter 10, Lasso evaluates several theories of power and control within the classroom, and discusses democratic educational practices as a way to strengthen and innovate constructivist teaching approaches in education. The chapter integrates the views of different scholars about democratic education and practices, as well as specific ways in which educators can incorporate democratic assessment in their classrooms to allow students to gain control over their learning process while being accountable for their actions and their own academic progress. The last part provides transnational North American perspectives in Chapter 11, “Deliberative dialogue as a teaching/learning experience in higher education: An application in some Human Services Leadership classroom practices”, Chapter 12, “Smart glasses as digital strategy for learning in higher education”, Chapter 13, “Different voices: Guest speakers as teaching pedagogy in culture class”, and Chapter 14, “Using technology to provide higher education for refugees”. In Chapter 11, Fonkem explores the teaching/learning experience in some human services leadership program courses at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in which he used the “deliberative dialogue” approach. The chapter reviews the “deliberative dialogue” concept, what it represents, its purpose, how it functions, and its history beginning from ancient Greece. The argument focuses on the perspective that giving students an adequate opportunity to

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reflect on the relevance of the teaching/learning content to their own personal experience engages them by “beginning where they are” and helps them address concerns in their own language and on their own terms. In Chapter 12, Schreiber and Hyatt examine three examples of digital strategies that align the use of smart glasses to innovative applications for teaching and learning. A system approach model guides the identification and analysis of best practices of related technology-based instruction within the broader context of the organization. The chapter also examines the processes of implementation and sustainability of digital strategies for learning by the institution. Chapter 13 is contributed by Kong and introduces a case study using guest speakers as teaching pedagogy to facilitate an on-line instructional technology class. This chapter examines the benefits and challenges when involving guest speakers to share their experiences and to communicate with students in a foreign culture and civilization course in a small university in the U.S. The chapter includes a reflection on the transformative impact on students’ learning, and offers insightful pedagogical implications. Chapter 14 is the final chapter in this volume and is contributed by Boskic and Sork, from the University of British Columbia, Canada. This chapter is based on a certificate and diploma program for elementary and secondary teachers in Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya, provided through a partnership between in the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada, York University, Toronto, Canada, and Kenyatta and Moi Universities from Kenya. Considered as the largest refugee camp complex in the world, Dadaab has been established since 1991 and is home for about half a million Somalis, Ethiopians and Sudanese refugees and their children. The chapter describes the experience of and “lessons learned” by the University of British Columbia from its participation in this humanitarian project. The program benefited from the flexibility of technology-mediated learning that enabled learning in an often insecure, environmentally challenging context, not bound by geographical limitations.

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On Transnational Innovative Teaching

There is not a universal rule to determine what is an innovative teaching strategy. However, there are certain characteristics that can help test whether a teaching strategy is innovative when considering the national context and the current teaching practices. Based on my personal experience teaching learners from all the main geographic regions of the world, inquiry through secondary sources, and reflective conversations with peers on the scholarship of teaching and learning, there have been some transnational recurrent themes in what can be considered an innovative teaching strategy or practice. Transnational

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figure 1.1 Twelve principles of transnational innovative teaching

innovative teaching tends to reflect one or more of the following 12 principles depicted in Fig. 1.1. 2.1 Imagination-Driven An innovative teaching strategy usually stems from a creative and imaginative mind. Imagination and creativity allow to explore new ways to do something differently, and discover new ideas and possibilities. The power of imagination to bring a new life to routine, or even boring teaching practices, is available freely across and beyond the borders of any single country. 2.2 Learner-Centered Learning Outcomes An innovative teaching strategy focuses on how to help students achieve particular relevant outcomes. The needs for innovative teaching strategies tend to be inspired by a desire or the intentionality of a teacher or instructor to find new ways to help students achieve learning outcomes. New teaching strategies can also be inspired by new knowledge acquired by the instructor, or the emergence or availability of new instructional support. Other factors such as a mandate could triger the utilization of new teaching strategies. Regardless the reason that motivates the initiation of a new teaching strategy, the implicit or explicit purpose tends to be to help the learner or student achieve certain learning outcomes. 2.3 Empowering Additional Ownership for Learning Overall, students cannot learn if they do not have some owenership over their learning. However, an innovative teaching strategy empowers students to take

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more owenership than usual over their learning. An empowering innovative teaching strategy has the potential to inspire students to love learning, and foster self-determination. A student who loves to learn is more likely to be intrinsically motivated to come to class, actively participate in class activities, contribute to the learning of others, and continue to study beyond the classroom. 2.4 Novel Student Engagement Experience A traditional or a routine teaching strategy may involve student engagement one way or the other. In contrast, an innovative teaching strategy enables students to engage in ways that they have never been before. This contributes to make such engagement experience look fresh and more attractive. A novel student engagement experience brings passion for learning a subject matter, because of a deeper connection that is created between the learner and the engaged learning experience. As Barkley (2010) asserted, “Student engagement is a process and a product that is experienced on a continuum and results from the synergistic interaction between motivation and active learning” (p. 8). 2.5 Novel Teaching Pattern Teaching occurs through a combination of instructional strategies, activities, and supports through certain patterns based on the context and choices made by the instructor. Innovative teaching tends to introduce a shift to patterns and choices that the learner anticipates the teacher would make based on prior experiences with such teacher. A novel teaching pattern may be either in the choice of a new teaching method, curriculum design, instructional strategy, activity, or/and support. It may also be the utilization of instructional strategy, activity, or/and support in ways that are new or different from previous practices. 2.6 Glocal-Minded Pedagogy Transnational innovative teaching is based on a glocalmindedness pedagogy. Therefore, instructional strategies and supports used are rooted in the local context, but considered within the context of global frameworks. In other words, a transnational innovative teaching practice is glocally relevant, which means it is relevant both globally and locally. In fact, the glocal provides “…a melding globalized and localized perspective of the world, through an indigenous adaptation of global frameworks in local contexts while protecting and appreciating local assets, traditions, values, and beliefs” (Jean-Francois, 2015, p. 89). 2.7 Integration of Learner Technology Literacy Innovative teaching accounts for the technology literacy level of the learners, as well their access to and utilization of potential instructional technology

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support that can help further the achievement of learning outcomes. Technology literacy refers to one’s “ability to effectively use technology to access, evaluate, integrate, create and communicate information to enhance the learning process through problem-solving and critical thinking” (Estes, 2017, p. 103). If technology integration does not account for the technology literacy of the learner, it runs the risk of decreasing the amount of time that becomes available for the learner to achieve a learning outcome. 2.8 Reliance on Flexible Expectations Expectations give a sense of purpose to the learner. There is a tendency to think of expectations in a binary high/low manner. Transnational innovative teaching considers expectations in terms of quality, diversity, and sustainability. This provides flexibility in the types of expectations that can be set and met. Consequently, expectations can be adjusted without compromising quality to allow students to become familiar with an innovative teaching initiative. 2.9 Reliance on Fair/Adjustable Accountability Expectations can be useless without a certain level of accountability toward the achievement of learning outcomes. However, flexible expectations require a process and level of accountability that is fair, adjustable, and transparent. Accountability in innovative teaching refers to the fact that both the teacher/ instructor and the learners have to account for their activities, accept their responsibilities, and be transparent about the results. Before initiating an innovative teaching strategy, the learners should know in advance the levels of accountability, and how such levels of accountability are connected to the learning outcomes. When acountability is linked to learning outcomes, it becomes not a regulation to punish the learner, but a guide to monitor progress toward the achievement of objectives, goals, and outcomes. 2.10 Using Failure as Asset for Learning An innovative teaching initiative does not always succeed or deliver on its promises. The context may be a misfit for an innovation. The instructor may fail to account for all the factors that must synchronize to make an innovation in teaching successful. Therefore, an innovative teaching should intentionally allow opportunities for trial and errors, and use failure as a content for critical thinking and reflective practice, thus as an opportunity for learning. 2.11 Built-in Fun in Learning Innovative teaching includes built-in oportunities for the learners to have fun while learning. Fun is an important part of every human life. We tend to keep great memories of moments of laughter and moments of great fun. If a

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teaching strategy can help a learner associate learning with fun, this association becomes a great motivator. It is possible to work hard, learn a lot, and have lots of fun at the same time. The built-in fun in learning separates great innovative teaching strategies from the other ones. 2.12 Comprehensive Assessment/Evaluation Assessment and evaluation are important to ensure that anticipated learning outcomes are achieved. In innovative teaching practices, assessment and evaluation are comprehensive, thus including both continuing and summative facets. A comprehensive assessment and evaluation continously uses a variety of criteria to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of a teaching strategy, and its correlation to an increase in students’ achievement of learning outcomes.

3

On Innovative Learning Technologies

Educators use emerging technologies not only to facilitate better learning experiences, but also to help students acquire transferable soft skills such as the ability to learn independently, collaborate with others, multitask effectively, communicate in a multi-faceted manner, and interact with individuals with different cultural backgrounds locally, globally, and beyond the borders of a country without necessarily traveling overseas. Emerging technologies are serving not only their original purposes in other industries, but also have been used in education as innovative learning technology to provide more comprehensive educational experiences to students. Innovative learning technologies enable the development of adaptive learning, which is the personalization of the learning experience for students. For example, through adaptive learning, a student can learn a content or topic independently with the support of a computer that is programmed to deliver the content based on such individual responses to questions, and other indicators of one’s learning needs in context. Personalizing the learning experience has the advantage of reducing the time it takes for learners to achieve learning outcomes. Similarly, mobile technologies and handheld devices are certainly innovative technologies, but constitute support for developing multimodal learning, which refers to the ability to teach contents that are reinforced over an extended period. With multi modal learning, an instructor has the possibility to use many sensory modes, and consequently break the monotony, reinforce and sustain the learning. Simulations, handheld devices and smart phones, job aids, mobile apps and e-learning are great innovative learning technologies to provide

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multi modal learning experiences to students. They make it easier to provide an extensive and sustainable learning experience to students. For example, the same content may be delivered in more than one mode and mobile learning support and help students learn in ways that suit them best. This has positive implications for increasing retention and effectiveness in the application of contents previously learned in a different mode. Gaming, simulations, and virtual worlds represent attractive innovative learning strategies that are used to engage students in learning, as well as increase their motivation and retention. Through game-based learning, teachers can embed stories, contents, suggested attitudes, and skill development strategies that are similar to what the students would learn in a traditional classroom. The difference is that the support of games, simulations, and a virtual world helps the student develop a deeper connection with the learning experience. This is a typical experience of multi-faceted learning, which combines autonomous learning, experiential learning, imagination, creativity, critical thinking, and other similar facets. Many educators have used social platforms as innovative teaching strategies to engage students in learning and communicate just-in-time information. For example, Twitter is used to share resources, tech tips, and blog posts to students, or get them engaged in chat discussions on course contents. Obviously, Twitter limits to 140 characters. Therefore, that can limit the extent of a chat discussion. Other social media platforms such as Facebook, Google+, Youtube, allow opportunities for more expansive communications and interactions. A teacher can develop a Google community course in order to post messages, links, videos, and images, and share comments on them. Similarly, a teacher can create a classroom YouTube channel. Then, students are assigned to record or video record voice reflections, not only on course topics, but also as a metacognition activity, and advised to post on the classroom channel. Social media integration in teaching can be a fun way to teach and learn, but also represents an innovative approach that can contribute to student engagement. And, in the process of interacting through social media platforms, students can learn additional transferable skills that can help them be more effective in their future careers. Overall, innovation has been and will remain critical to help meet the challenge of the knowledge-based economy that has been influenced by Information and Communication Technology (ICT). ICT has enabled innovative instructional technology supports that foster new opportunities for innovative teaching at the national, international, and transnational levels. Instructional technology supports provide teachers with resources to use novel, multi-faceted, and diverse teaching strategies, which can help students have better learning experiences.

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11

Conclusion

Innovative teaching practices have several positive advantages for the learner. Students who experience innovative teaching practices benefit from the intentionality of the teacher to help the learner achieve key relevant outcomes. Innovative teaching facilitates learner engagement, and consequently fosters an active learning classroom that increases the likelihood of students achieving anticipated learning outcomes. Innovations in educational technologies have significantly influenced how students learn at every level of education systems across nation states. Obviously, there is a transnational digital divide that exists in both economically developing and developed countries. In other words, it is possible to travel to any remote rural area of an African, Asian, or Latin American developing country to witness the lack of basic access to educational technologies in a given school. Similarly, it is possible to visit a school in the rural Appalachia of the United States, and visit a school with children who have meaningless to zero access to instructional technology either at home or in the classroom. However, the opposite is also true. In other words, transnationally, Learning Management Systems (LMS), virtual classrooms, digital readers, mobile device, online gaming, and other similar innovative technologies have impacted how students learn, and many teachers are taking advantage of the availability of such instructional technology supports to provide transformative learning experiences to students.

References Barkley, E. F. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Estes, J. S. (2017). Teacher preparation programs and learner-centered technologyintegrated instruction. In J. Keengwe & G. Onchwari (Eds.), Handbook of research on learner-centered pedagogy in teacher education and professional development (pp. 85–103). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0892-2 Jean-Francois, E. (2015). Building global education with a local perspective: An introduction to glocal higher education. New York, NY: Palgrave Mcmillan. Jean-Francois, E. (2016). What is transnational education? In E. Jean-Francois, M. B. M. Avoseh, & W. Griswold (Eds.), Perspectives in transnational higher education (pp. 3–22). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Emmanuel Jean-Francois Ohio University, USA

Part 1 Transnational African Perspectives

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Chapter 2

Addressing Learners’ Individual Needs with Turnitin Eva Sujee

1

Introduction

Learners have more access to Web-based, electronic, and multimedia communication devices than ever before while also being able to connect very easily for access to information, communities or resources. The global expansion of technology has resulted in schools becoming increasingly diverse, and teachers need to provide multicultural, inclusive and multilingual contexts. New cultural practices are being formed and the interaction of multiple texts or voices is inevitable (Danzak, 2011). Greene, Yu, and Copeland (2014) confirm that it is vital to acquire the skills required to use internet technology for 21st century learning, with the internet playing a prominent role in both home and classroom. In addition, Carneiro and Gordon (2013) suggest that teachers need to provide the necessary flexible learning environments to support scaffolding. Bruett (2006) is of the opinion that there is still a profound gap between the skills that learners acquire at school and the skills required in the workplace. It is essential that education becomes rigorous and meaningful if it is to produce learners with the competencies that are relevant to the 21st century workforce (Bruett, 2006). In this regard, Nelson, Christopher, and Mims (2009) propose that Web 2.0 technologies may provide opportunities for collaborative learning and knowledge building. Online environments provide platforms for learners from diverse backgrounds to come together and engage in collaborative learning. The integration of Web 2.0 technologies by skilful teachers may result in the acquisition of the 21st century skills that are necessary to learners in view of the global economy and industry. Web 2.0 technologies may provide opportunities to learners to engage in active learning, to take responsibility for their own learning and develop high-order thinking and creative skills. Cramer (2007) and Nelson (2008) emphasise that more needs to be done to help learners to take responsibility for their learning. In addition, Zhang (2010), Golonka et al. (2014) and Holland and Holland (2014) indicate the need for further studies on the effect of specific technologies on learners with different proficiency levels in a diverse learning class. This chapter elaborates on the acquisition or learning © koninklijke brill nv, leideN, 2018 | DOI 10.1163/9789004366077_002

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of a First Additional Language (FAL), using the collaborative online discussion board and the Grade Mark feature on Turnitin, a plagiarism detection tool, to address leaners’ individual needs, placing written corrective feedback (WCF) at the centre of the learning experience. The e-assessment tool of Turnitin was used to provide individual feedback in order to address the individual needs of the learners in the multilinguistic language class.

2

National Context

South Africa’s history of language policy and practice in education has been influenced by ideological and political interests instead of pedagogical considerations. Since the 19th century black South Africans have converted English into the language of aspiration, national unity and liberation (Alexander, 2005). Manyike and Lemmer (2014) confirm this fact when they assert that English has become central in post-apartheid South Africa and it has become the preferred medium of instruction in higher education, commerce and government (referred to in post-1994 policy documents as the language of learning and teaching [LoLT] in public schools). Nevertheless, equity education in the country is not achieving the desired results because of the fact that black learners are learning English as an additional language, but they are expected to master all the other learning areas using English as a medium. Annual reports such as the national school-leaving examinations, literacy and numeracy assessments and international benchmarking assessments all reveal the underachievement of black learners in South Africa (Manyike & Lemmer, 2014). Manyike and Lemmer (2014) indicate that during the apartheid era (1948– 1994), a policy of bilingualism was in place. This policy accorded status only to English and Afrikaans as official languages. Thus, the needs of African speakers were ignored and the policy accommodated white English and Afrikaans speakers only. The medium of instruction in black schools was highly politicised. Although the medium of instruction in the first four years of schooling was in the learners’ home language, English and Afrikaans were taught as subjects from the first year of schooling, thus forcing children to be trilingual. By the 1970s English and Afrikaans were used on a 50/50 basis as a medium of instruction while the home language was used for non-examination subjects only. This lowered the status of the home language and demeaned its usefulness. This situation led to the Soweto riots in 1976. After 1994 the new government went to great lengths to shape the Language in Education Policy (LiEP) (Department of Education, 1997). The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (South Africa, 1996) gave equal status to all 11 South African languages (English, Afrikaans, Sepedi, Setswana, Sesotho,

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Tshivenda, Siswati, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, Xitsonga, and isiZulu). The South African Schools Act (Republic of South Africa, 1996) empowered school governing bodies to decide on the language policy while the LiEP (Department of Education, 1997) promoted bilingualism by allowing the home language as a medium of instruction in early primary schooling, followed by the introduction of additional languages. The Revised National Curriculum Statement (Department of Education, 2002b) stipulates that all learners have to study their home language as well as at least one additional language as language subjects from Grade 1. The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) (Department of Basic Education, 2012) reaffirmed this stipulation. It is, thus, the right of all South African learners to be educated in the official language(s) of their choice. Nevertheless, this must be in the context of what is realistically practicable (Coffey & Atkinson, 1996). In addition, a new linguistically-diverse environment has been created by the desegregation of formerly whites-only schools, and innovative ways of teaching are necessary to accommodate multilingualism in schools. South Africa has the most progressive language in education policies which address the issue of multilingualism (Department of Basic Education, 2013). At the time of the study the researcher was a high school teacher at a private school for girls. In 2005, the school management decided to integrate technology into the school curriculum in order to prepare learners for the digital environment both in tertiary institutions and the corporate world. The initiative commenced by supplying all the teachers with laptops and providing them with training. Subsequently, a learning technologies facilitator was appointed to help the teachers with the smart boards and education software and with the smooth integration of technology into their lessons. All the learners have to achieve the same skills at the end of their Grade 12 year irrespective of their different levels of Afrikaans proficiency or their exposure to Afrikaans. Learners have to achieve at least 50% in a first additional language in Grade 12 for university entrance. The learners and the teachers at the school are fortunate to be surrounded with technology. The researcher wanted to explore the effect of technology on learning in a multilingual language class to address the individual needs of the learners. The study focuses on one class of girl learners, from different backgrounds and different cultures and with Afrikaans as home language, first additional language, second additional language or even third additional language. The learners had not necessarily received tuition in Afrikaans as home language in pre-primary, primary or high school. They also did not, as is expected in the curriculum, have a solid foundation of Afrikaans FAL. They differ in respect of culture, race and the social circles in which they move and interact. The teacher was faced with a diverse class with different levels of Afrikaans proficiency which he or she needs to accommodate.

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Learners have a choice between Afrikaans and Sepedi as a first additional language at the school. If foreign learners start Grade 8 in South Africa they are accorded immigrant status and are not compelled to do a first additional language to obtain their National Senior Certificate. However, one of the complicating factors is that a vast majority of the learners are not South Africans, with many coming from Botswana and choosing to do Afrikaans as a first additional language. There are also learners who have forgotten how to speak Afrikaans as a result of their having spent part of their high school careers overseas. As a result, there are many cases of learners taking Afrikaans for the first time as a subject in their Grade 8 year. They do not have the required vocabulary or foundation for the level of Afrikaans proficiency required in that grade and this proves frustrating for all parties concerned: learners, parents and teachers. Teachers do not have either the time or the professional qualification to start with the foundation curriculum in order to teach a learner Grade 2 Afrikaans: how to read and write Afrikaans. There is also another factor which must be taken into account, namely, that there are Afrikaans-speaking learners who speak Afrikaans fluently as well as those learners who are fully bilingual because of the social circles in which they move. They do not enjoy the Afrikaans class because it does not challenge them sufficiently. In addition, these Afrikaans-speaking learners are often extremely gifted and this exacerbates their boredom and they face no real challenges in class. In other words, the teacher is faced with a diverse class with different levels of Afrikaans proficiency which he or she needs to accommodate. Therefore, this research addresses the following primary research question: How can Turnitin be utilised to address every learner’s individual learning need?

3

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of information computer technology (ICT) on First Additional Language (FAL) learning in a multilinguistic class. This study also investigates how Turnitin can be used to address the individual needs of learners.

4

Literature Study

There are four main objectives to the literature review which was conducted for the purposes of this research study: firstly, to examine the way in which traditional literacy has evolved into new literacies in the classrooms today;

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secondly, to investigate how a first additional language is mastered; thirdly, to explore how computer technology (ICT) influences language learning in order to establish a theoretical sensitivity; and lastly, to look at previous studies conducted on Turnitin and written corrective feedback (WCF). 4.1 New Literacies Traditional literacy may no longer be enough for survival in this digital era because of the emerging technologies of the 21st century. Literary practices are changing because of the broad social, economic and technological changes in our everyday life, education, the media as well as the workplace. Accordingly, we need an expanded literacy to account for a culturally and linguistically diverse context and a society that is increasingly becoming more globalised. With globalisation, an increasing number of interrelated multifarious cultures and plurality of texts are emerging. More text forms such as visual images are appearing because of information and multimedia technologies, and it is essential that people fully understand and competently engage with these multimodal texts. People need to equip themselves with these new literacies if they are to engage in meaningful communication in this new digital environment. Language and print literacy are no longer sufficient for the multimodal content that is utilised in order to communicate (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000). Literacy is a crucial skill for economic prosperity, and even small improvements in national literacy levels may have a huge impact on the socio-economy (Carneiro & Gordon, 2013). In the global competitive environment digital technologies provide instant access to a large number of resources in order to solve problems effectively in a short time. Carneiro and Gordon (2013) are of the opinion that literacy today requires life-wide or lifelong learning individuals who are able to survive in an environment that is characterised by fast-moving technological innovations. We need to be lifelong learning individuals for effective engagement on social media. The increased technological environment has brought about huge changes in the socialising aspect of society with the creation of social media. Learners are engaging more and more in written communication instead of oral communication as a result of social media and are constantly busy conveying messages, feelings and emotions via social media. Thus, the digital learners are using texts as their primary method of communication. Teachers and researchers are also eager to investigate the learning that takes place in online social settings. Mere access to social media is not enough and new media literacies are needed to engage fully in online settings. There is, thus, a gap between those who know how to engage fully in social media and those who do not. Therefore, it is vital for teachers to understand the literacies which are necessary for effective engagement in online settings.

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These new literacies are referred to as “new media literacies”, “new literacies” or “digital literacies” (Kimmons, 2014). This confirms the notion of Carneiro and Gordon (2013) that new literacies are as essential as a driving licence in this high-tech, 21st-century society. Huffaker (2005) refers to this digital literate skill as being digitally fluent. It refers to how comfortable an individual is with the use of computers. New literacies need to be considered in terms of the use of technology because the emergence of new technologies has changed the nature of literacy (Tapscott, 1998). Learners require the ability to read, comprehend and interact with technology in order to survive in the new media ecology (Coiro, 2003). In other words, literacy has evolved to include several new literacies such as visual, financial, health, social, digital, mathematics, functional and media literacies. According to a review conducted by Cervi, Paredes, and Tornero (2010), literacy has evolved from reading and writing to electronic media to digital media and to a more comprehensive literacy that refers to both the internet and Web. 2.0. Hobbs, Felini, and Cappello (2011) use the term “expanded literacy” in the new literacies to describe the focus that has shifted from the alphabetic and written texts to a literacy that encompasses social communication and ideology. Chen, Wu, and Wang (2011) argue that it is vital that individuals become new media “literate” in this new high tech, 21st century society. The authors also highlight the fact that most researchers see the new media literacy as multiliteracies (Carstens, 2012). The term “multiliteracies” was coined by the New London Group and focuses on the multiple communication channels that have arisen as a result of the increased linguistic and cultural diversity which in turn has come about because of the digital technology world in which we live (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000). Zammit (2011) agrees that we need to be multiliterate to be able to function fully in the digital society. In addition, Jewitt (2008, p. 245) notes that the pedagogic aim of multiliteracies is to expose the learners to opportunities to engage with the wide range of literacy practices as well as the multiple and multimodal texts with which they are confronted on a daily basis. Multiliteracies promote individualised learning because they recognise the multiple ways in which learners make meaning. Furthermore, they encourage pedagogies that afford equal opportunities to both traditional and non-traditional learners to learn in ways that enable them to participate fully in private, community, public and economic life (Newfield & Maungedzo, 2006). Being “multiliterate” also implies the ability to handle the social meanings and, consequently, the identities that each social setting evokes, the capacity to make meaning for different audiences, the ability to move between discourses and across genres and to apply the appropriate linguistic practice to each setting (Devereux & Wilson, 2008).

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4.2 First Additional Language (FAL) Learners use their home language which they have already mastered when they first enter school. In Grades 2 and 3 understanding and speaking languagebasic interpersonal communication skills are developed (Department of Basic Education, 2012). The four skills in language include listening, speaking, reading and writing. There is greater focus on these skills in the intermediate and senior phases than in the previous phases. In addition, there is more exposure to the First Additional Language with learners using the language for reading and thinking. They read more and develop their academic cognitive skills. They also use their aesthetic and imaginative abilities in the additional language. It is expected that learners should be reasonably proficient in the First Additional Language by Grade 10. Unfortunately, however, this is not always the case and teachers are being challenged to help learners to meet the required standards in Grade 12 (Department of Basic Education, 2012). According to the National Curriculum Statement Grade R–12 (Department of Basic Education, 2012), the specific aims in a first additional language include the following: learners must be able to communicate accurately and appropriately; use the additional language for academic learning across the curriculum; listen, speak, write and present with confidence and enjoyment; think independently and analytically; be able to express their experiences and findings orally and in writing; use the additional language to access and manage information across the curriculum; and become critical and creative thinkers. The National Curriculum Statement Grade R–12 (Department of Basic Education, 2012) also departs from the traditional approach that learners must first master the basic skills in their home language before they start reading in an additional language. It is expected of teachers to start second-language reading in the middle of Grade 1. Teachers have to clarify the differences between the phonics and sentence structures of the second language and the learners’ home language. However, the reality is that the languages are very different and the learners do not have the basics of these languages in place. In addition, the different language areas have different levels of language skills. The benefit of starting with an additional language as early as in Grade 1 is the extent of vocabulary that learners acquire. According to Owen-Smith (2012), studies have shown that the earlier a learner is exposed to an additional language, the better. 4.3 Technology Integration The issue in teaching and learning is no longer whether or not teachers should integrate technology into their teaching but, rather, how they should use

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technology in their teaching in order to provide new opportunities for learning (Angeli & Valanides, 2009). Mishra and Koehler (2008) maintain that there is no one ideal way in which to integrate technology into the curriculum and, in fact, the integration of technology must be creatively designed for a specific subject matter within a specific classroom context. Gordon et al. (2009) reported that the “ideal” learning environment for key competencies should encompass a more individualised approach compared to the traditional whole class approach, collaborative cross-curricular teaching as well as sound leadership that builds on the vision of school development and encourages teamwork. Barr and Gillespie (2003, p. 69) regard learning with technology as an integrated process, stating that … a computer-based environment needs to be carefully constructed in order to ensure that all the other components of learning are effectively integrated into it. It is important to ensure that the uses of computer technology in this type of environment are not seen as separate, but rather that they are integrated, working together to enhance the process of teaching and learning … CALL packages must not be seen as standalone creations. Thus, technology is a teaching tool and it must be used to integrate the learning and teaching methods with the available resources. In addition, technology must be used to realise pedagogical goals and it must not be forced to fit a lesson. If other more conventional teaching and learning methods may be used to ensure that the learners grasp the subject matter successfully then there is little point in using computer technology. Technology is not a standalone tool but, instead, it offers support to the total environment of learning. It is also extremely important that the principles of sound pedagogy are understood because technology is changing constantly and at a rapid pace (Murray & Barnes, 1998). The pedagogical goals must be clear and sound teaching methods must be regarded as paramount. The use of technology merely supports the realisation of the pedagogical goals and, thus, these goals must be considered before technology may be integrated into teaching (Levy, 1997). Mishra and Koehler (2008) therefore regard teachers as designers because most technologies are designed for the corporate world and not for educational purposes. 4.4 Turnitin Batani (2010) defines Turnitin as web-based software that is used to detect plagiarism in order to promote originality in student papers. Turnitin compares

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the submitted assignment of students with a huge database of internet sources and provides an originality report that is accessible to both the learner and the instructor. Davis and Carroll (2009) report that studies have investigated the impact of Turnitin on educational practice with the capacity of Turnitin as a deterrent to plagiarism being highlighted. According to Baker, Thornton, and Adams (2011), preliminary research suggests that teachers benefit from detecting plagiarisms because of the resultant decrease in plagiarism levels. Buckley and Cowap (2013) confirm that the teachers’ workload decreases while there is also a reduction in the time spent on marking assignments and searching for instances of academic misconduct. In the main, the quality of the assignments improves and fewer incorrect referencing practices and fewer instances of plagiarism are found. According to Buckley and Cowap (2013), it would appear that Turnitin increases the learners’ knowledge of plagiarism. In general, Turnitin is positively received by teachers. The only difficulties usually involve inserting QuickMark Comments on the text while the second marking in GradeMark is often a challenge. According to Dahl (2007) learners welcomed Turnitin because of the identification of plagiarism and the electronic submission of assignments. However, Davis and Carroll (2009) also mention the controversies around Turnitin. Although it may help learners to avoid plagiarism, some academics are concerned that Turnitin is detracting from the teacher’s responsibility to support learning. A few studies only have investigated the role of Turnitin in supporting learning, rather than guiding assessment, while even fewer studies have explored the role of formative feedback in supporting learning. Davis and Carroll (2009) investigated the role of formative feedback with the use of Turnitin to avoid plagiarism. The results showed that formative feedback on a one-to-one basis had a positive impact on reducing plagiarism. In addition, by using the Turnitin originality reports, the learners were more engaged and being given direct advice in a nonthreatening formative way. This approach appeared to be effective. Heckler (2013) emphasises that a supportive context is critical when implementing Turnitin. However, some institutions were reluctant to embrace this perception of the use of Turnitin to avoid plagiarism because of a fear of losing learners. Nevertheless, the institution has a responsibility to educate learners not to plagiarise and it is essential that punitive measures are in place to deal with misconduct should a learner plagiarise. The implementation of Turnitin highlights an institution’s commitment to academic integrity. Rolfe (2011) found the use of Turnitin to be extremely valuable in terms of literacy development. Turnitin highlights the areas that require rewriting and it may be a useful tool in motivating learners to improve their literacy skills. The active engagement of learners that results from the use of Turnitin is also more

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beneficial for learning as compared to passive reception while the colourful report with clues which is provided is also more successful than mere written feedback. In addition, this approach also encourages the self-directed learning that leads to learners taking responsibility for their own learning (Rolfe 2011). However, instant feedback does not guarantee reduced plagiarism and learners still need to be educated. Rolfe (2011) reported that large numbers of learners had no problems in submitting draft assignments and receiving feedback. Comparisons between the initial assignment and the final submission showed improvements. Nevertheless, despite this improvement, the learners’ citation skills deteriorated and the use of Turnitin did not have any impact on referencing. Rolfe (2011) adds that, although Turnitin has the potential to lead learners to self-directed learning, he also noticed a lack of discipline in the self-directed learning of the learners. It is vital that self-directed learning is introduced in a supportive environment, especially if there is a low level of prior knowledge. Self-directed learning is successful when learners have a sense of responsibility and autonomy about their learning. 4.5 Written Corrective Feedback (WCF) Ferris (2010) reports that empirical research on corrective feedback (CF) was rare before 1995. Writing was not emphasised in second language instruction. According to Sheen (2010), language learning was heavily influenced by the behaviourist views of language learning in the 1950s and 1960s, and habit formation was emphasised. Errors were perceived as damaging to learning and they had no role to play in language acquisition. However, in the 1970s and 1980s, language acquisition, Krashen’s theory (1982) was driven by positive evidence but, again, there was no room for CF. Ferris (2010) refers to the amount of material that was designed in the early 1990s to address language issues in second language writing. Ferris (2010) advocates the contextualisation of written CF in the writing process. CF was prioritised to focus on frequent and serious writing error patterns and to address the individual needs of the learners. Ferris (2010) claims that the purpose of error correction is to provide strategies to guide learners to independent writing. 4.6 Types of Feedback Alavi and Taghizadeh (2014) report on the verification and elaboration types of feedback which may be presented in the forms of implicit and/or explicit feedback. When implicit feedback is used, the learners have to correct their errors without any indication or pointing out of the errors in their output and, thus, the corrections are elicited from the learners themselves. On the other hand, with explicit feedback, the errors are pointed out to the learners.

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According to Wigglesworth and Storch (2012), feedback may be classified in terms of its explicitness or directness. The literature on written CF makes a clear distinction between direct and indirect feedback. In terms of direct feedback the teacher or another reader gives explicit corrections while, in indirect feedback, the learner’s attention is drawn to an error but the learner has to correct the error. Second language writing researchers regard indirect feedback as a valuable means both to guide the learners to problem-solving and to provide opportunities for learners to take responsibility for their own learning progress (Ferris, 2010). According to Ferris (2010), learners prefer indirect feedback to direct feedback. Another important fact to consider when providing feedback is first to determine the goal of the feedback. For example, the purpose or outcome of the writing activity influences the type of feedback. If the goal is to focus on a specific feature of the writing, then direct correction would be the most efficient. If, however, the goal is to assess the success of possible strategies for developing revision or editing processes, then indirect feedback that requires more effort or engagement on the part of the learner may be more efficient (Ferris, 2010). Ferris (2004) also recommends that teachers provide direct feedback for learners with low levels of second language proficiency because they do not have the ability to self-correct their errors. Chandler (2003) discusses four different kinds of ways in which teachers may respond when they give WCF. These include: – firstly, direct correction which, as mentioned previously, involves providing the correction to be made; – secondly, indirect feedback which is done by underlining the error and providing a marginal description of the type of error; – thirdly, and also indirectly, by merely giving a marginal description of the type of error; and, – lastly, by simple underlining the error with no indication or description of the type of error (indirect). The use of direct correction usually demonstrates a vast improvement in the number of errors because the learners simply rewrite the correction that the teacher had given. The underlining with a marginal description of the error proved to be the second most successful method with learners correcting more than two-thirds of their errors. The final method in terms of which the teachers merely pointed out the location of the error proved to be the least successful method although learners were still able to correct half of their errors. However, Chandler (2003) reports that the most effective way in which to gather evidence of learner improvement was with a different and new piece

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of writing that learners complete with fewer errors. In contradiction to the assertions of Ferris (2010) as described previously, it was found by Chandler (2003) that learners preferred direct feedback because it was much easier and quicker than indirect feedback. However, it was also found that the learners felt that the best way to learn from the mistake and to avoid a repeat of the mistake in the future was when the teacher underlined the mistake with a marginal description. The learners felt they learnt more by self-correcting.

5

Adapted Conceptual Framework

The framework used in this research adapts the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Framework to incorporate one other theoretical framework. Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) is a conceptual theoretical framework and represents the interaction between content knowledge (CK), technological knowledge (TK), pedagogical knowledge (PK) and the transformation which is brought about when these three domains are combined. In order to teach effectively, teachers need to have knowledge of these three domains and also need to know how to integrate them successfully. Four domains arose out of the intersection of content knowledge, technological knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, namely, technological content knowledge (TCK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Mishra and Koehler (2006, p. 1029) explain TPACK as: … the basis of good teaching with technology and requires an understanding of the representation of concepts using technologies; pedagogical techniques that use technologies in constructive ways to teach content; knowledge of what makes concepts difficult or easy to learn and how technology can help redress some of the problems that students face; knowledge of students’ prior knowledge and theories of epistemology; and knowledge of how technologies can be used to build on existing knowledge and to develop new epistemologies or strengthen old ones. The TPACK Framework is inadequate on its own; therefore Vygotsky’s theory is merged with the TPACK Framework to form a new conceptual framework that includes the two components of FAL learning, namely, the content, that is, the grammar that forms the basis for second language acquisition, and the skill, that is, second language acquisition in the zone of proximal development of the

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learners. The primary task of an Afrikaans FAL teacher is to teach and facilitate the acquisition of Afrikaans FAL. The framework that underpins language acquisition is the FAL content and the skills. The curriculum skills consist of learners communicating accurately and appropriately; using the additional language for academic learning across the curriculum; listening, speaking, writing and presenting with confidence and enjoyment; thinking independently and analytically; being able to express their experiences and findings orally and in writing; using the additional language to access and manage information across the curriculum; and becoming critical and creative thinkers (National Curriculum Statement Grade R–12, 2012). FAL constitutes the content in the form of grammar and language rules that learners have to master (CK).

figure 2.1 Adapted conceptual framework (Sujee, 2015)

The biggest challenge in this particular context is the great variation in language skills and attitudes in the learners as a result of the economic and political changes that have taken place in South Africa. The learners have become more diverse, as they come from other countries as well as South Africa, and learners from previously disadvantaged groups are also being enrolled. In addition, the boarding facilities are in high demand because increasingly parents are working overseas or have demanding jobs that require long hours. As a result, the teachers were faced with learners with different levels of Afrikaans proficiency.

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In order to provide each learner with the best chance of success and to support each to surpass his/her own zone of proximal development, as suggested by Vygotsky (1978), teachers should address learners’ individual needs. According to Vygotsky (1978), the zone of proximal development is the distance between what the learner knows and what the learner could potentially know. Vygotsky (1978) focused on the way in which humans function when placed in a certain problem situation, with the tools to solve the problem. Vygotsky (1978) views learning as a social process within a certain context and thus social interaction is key to learning. By interacting with the teacher and capable peers, learners learn from one another in a social context and acquire knowledge and skills. Therefore teachers should provide powerful artefacts and learning opportunities for collaboration with experts in order to bridge the distance between learners’ current levels of understanding and their potential levels. Vygotsky therefore informs the pedagogy needed to teach this subject in this context and represents the PK knowledge in Fig. 2.1. By providing individualised feedback to each individual learner, technology makes individual learning possible, but only if it is ubiquitous and is adopted by all role players. The third component of the framework is therefore technology (TK). Technology can be used to transform content in order for learners to have a better understanding of the subject matter (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Teachers must therefore choose the correct technology based on pedagogical principles that can help the learner to grasp the content (Levy, 1997; Murray & Barnes, 1998). Technology is thus merely a teaching tool and, as such, must be used to integrate the learning and teaching methods with the available resources. Gordon et al. (2009) describe the “ideal” learning environment as an environment in which a more individualised approach is adopted that includes collaborative cross-curricular teaching and good leadership that builds on the vision of school development and encourages teamwork. The benefits of technology integration far surpass the challenges, therefore, teachers need to look for solutions to overcome these challenges (Golonka, Bowles, Frank, Richardson, & Freynik, 2014). Insufficient access to technology, and lack of time and technology skills, are factors that prevent teachers from integrating technology in the classroom (Tondeur et al., 2012). In addition, learners may become frustrated with software and hardware that does not work or has not been installed properly, distractions from the learning task and teachers ignoring the pedagogical purpose of the task (Golonka et al., 2014). According to Annetta (2010), there is generally not enough commitment from teachers and learners to integrate technology. Teachers therefore need to develop new tools and applications, using advanced technologies to enhance teaching and learning. Teachers

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with a good TPACK framework apply technology as an integrative part of the teaching process. Krashen (1982) clearly distinguishes between language learning and language acquisition. Language acquisition occurs subconsciously in natural and meaningful interactions, while language learning is a conscious process of acquiring knowledge about the language, for example grammar rules. Language skill can be taught in the intersection between pedagogy and technology if technology is well used (TKPK). However, acquisition also requires a solid foundation of content in the form of grammar and language knowledge and rules. Part of acquisition is therefore situated at the intersection of all three knowledges, namely, TPACK. This adapted conceptual framework guided this inquiry and provided the lens for this investigation to direct and manage the complexity of the digital era.

6

Research Design and Methodology

This research study is an in-depth understanding of a group of girls in Grade 11 and the effect of technology on their learning in an Afrikaans First Additional Language classroom. The purpose of the study is to explore and describe the effect of computer technology in a multilingual language class. Case study researchers focus on an activity which involves individuals. As such, they are interested in describing the activities of the group in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the case in question (Creswell, 2008). According to Griffee (2012), either a quantitative or a qualitative approach may be applied to case studies. Having said that, a qualitative approach was followed whereby an understanding of the phenomenon in question was obtained through the eyes of the participants and by collecting rich, in-depth data on the participants’ subjective experiences and how they construct the social world in their natural environment (Nieuwenhuis, 2007). In addition, Hine (2005) adds another type of case study to the list and situates the case study of netnography under the umbrella of online ethnography: online netnography involves observing the naturally occurring “posting” and “threads” in online forum and interviews within an online community. The requisite data may be collected online as well as offline. In view of the fact that the focus of this study was the impact of technology on the learning of learners within an online community, the researcher selected this type of case study as the most appropriate for the purposes of the study. As a teacher at this sampled school, the researcher had ready access to learners, teachers and the technician, making this a convenient sample.

30 table 2.1

Sujee Composition of the learners

Participant

Medium of instruction in language Race

Pre-primary Primary schooling schooling

Used at home

Used in social circles

Other languages in order of profijiciency

1 2

White White

English English

English English

English English

Afrikaans Afrikaans

3

White

English

English

English English Afrikaans English

4

White

English

English

5

White

English

English

6

Mixed English

English

English/ Portuguese Afrikaans/ Afrikaans/ English English English English Afrikaans Southern English, Sotho Sotho, Tswana

7 8

White Black

English Setswana

English English

English Setswana

English English/ Setswana

9

White

Afrikaans

English

English

10 11 12

White Asian White

English English English

English English English

13 14 15

White White White

English English English

English English English

16

Black

English

English

English/ German English English English/ Greek English English English/ Afrikaans Shona

English English English English English English/ Afrikaans English

Afrikaans French Afrikaans Afrikaans Tswana English Xhosa Afrikaans Afrikaans Sotho English Zulu Afrikaans German Afrikaans Afrikaans Afrikaans Afrikaans Afrikaans Afrikaans English/ Afr HL Zulu English Afrikaans

Addressing Learners’ Individual Needs with Turnitin Participant

31

Medium of instruction in language Race

Pre-primary Primary schooling schooling

Used at home

Used in social circles

Other languages in order of profijiciency

17

Black

English

English

English

18 19

White White

English English

English English

Ndebele/ English English English

English Afrikaans Afrikaans Afrikaans

English English

As indicated in Table 2.1, the class includes diverse learners with different levels of proficiency in Afrikaans. In addition, the learners differ in respect of their backgrounds, cultures, race and the social circles in which they move and interact. Their social circles influence their level of proficiency in Afrikaans FAL. Below is the breakdown of the teachers and the technician in Table 2.2. The participants were all female. Focus group discussions in a chat room with the First Additional Language teachers and the technician were important because the researcher believed they would be able to shed some light on the influence of the integration of relevant computer technologies on teaching and learning in a multilinguistic language class and the learners’ perceptions of the effective use of computer technology in a multilinguistic language class. These female teachers have all taught at the school since the school incorporated technology into the curriculum. The three Afrikaans First Additional Language teachers, the one Sepedi First Additional Language teacher and the female technician also all worked in the same school environment and were able to answer the questions on the relevant technology in the First Additional Language classrooms, the challenges that were faced with the integration of technology as well as the potential use of technology in addressing the individual needs of the learners. The technician’s input was valuable for the emerging technologies as well as the circumstances which are beneficial for effective technology integration. Technology was deliberately integrated into the lessons with the sampled class. The researcher used the Smart Board, PowerPoint, Word and Excel software programs extensively in the past and introduced new technology such as the Smart Response System, Voki characters, Turnitin, chat rooms, blogging on Kid blog and YouTube.

32 table 2.2

Sujee Composition of the fijirst additional language teachers and technician

Teacher 1 Position held at Teacher the school

Teaching Subject at the Afrikaans school FAL Experience 18 (years) Experience 9 at the school (years) Qualifijications BEd (Hons)

Teacher 2

Teacher 3

Teacher

Subject Head: Deputy Sepedi Principal

Information Technology Specialist

Afrikaans FAL

Sepedi FAL

Afrikaans FAL

7

30

30

Information and communications Technician 8

7

10

9

8

B Ed

MA in African MA Languages Languages Sepedi Afrikaans, Zulu

A+ N+ MCSC

30

30

N/A

13

9

N/A

Afrikaans Main Afrikaans specialisation English subjects Mathematics History First 16 7 Additional Language teaching experience (years) Experience in 9 7 teaching with technology (years)

Teacher 4

Technician

N/A

Learners used their laptops to do essay writing. In the feedback, the researcher used different colours to highlight errors in word structure, sentence structure and punctuation, as well as for any outstanding work done as illustrated in Fig. 2.2. The feedback worked in the following way: when an error was identified, it was highlighted according to the different error categories mentioned above. A ‘quick mark’ with a full explanation of the applicable grammar

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figure 2.2 Example of an assignment marked using the quick mark comments

rules was also provided as these rules are an integral part of the Afrikaans FAL curriculum. Yellow indicated outstanding writing, pink highlighted a sentence structure error, blue showed a word structure error and punctuation errors were highlighted in purple. Learners were provided with feedback as written individual comments and audio individual comments, enhancing differentiation with the aid of technology. The empirical component of the study included anonymous online discussions in a blog on the part of the learners, observations of the learners when they were engaging in the online discussions, class observations via video recordings of five lessons, five semi-structured interviews with the learners via email, two focus group discussions with the staff in a chat room and the written texts of the learners on the Turnitin software programme in an e-portfolio. The initial questions for the semi-structured interviews were broad questions on the learners’ personal beliefs about the role of technology in the schools, their computer proficiency and the use of technology. The responses to these questions informed the subsequent questions as the study progressed (Creswell, 2008, p. 56). The questions focused on the sub-questions which were the relevance of computer technology for teaching and learning in a multilinguistic language class in the 21st century, challenges encountered when integrating computer technology in a multilinguistic class and how technology could be utilised to address every learner’s individual learning needs. Some examples include: 1 Please tell me what are your personal beliefs about the role of technology in your class? 2 If you could make a recommendation to other learners and teachers who wanted to do more with technology in their classrooms, what recommendation would you make?

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3 Name at least three advantages of technology use for you in the Afrikaans First Additional Language classroom. The learners’ first assignment for their e-portfolio on the Turnitin software programme was to design a curriculum vitae (CV) for themselves. This served as a short transactional piece of writing only to enable the learners to accustom themselves to Turnitin. The second assignment was more challenging than the first and was an essay. The essay was written as process writing. Process writing involves the learners being given more than one opportunity to write a creative piece. The teacher identified and showed learners the mistakes they had made without correcting the mistakes for them. The learners received the feedback back from the teacher and then, guided by the individual feedback, tried to correct their own mistakes. Then, if necessary, their peers helped some of the learners to correct their mistakes. When an error was identified, the teacher scaffolded the learner to correct it in a contingent manner, offering just enough assistance to guide the learner to examine her own mistake, recognise it and correct it. The aim of this process was to enable the learner to assume responsibility for her own learning, to make a conscious decision to help herself and, thus, to assume autonomy in the learning process. The learners then uploaded their final, corrected essays for assessment. Finally they were asked to write comments of their experience of Turnitin on the blog. These comments were used as data for the purpose of the study.

figure 2.3 Example of an e-portfolio on Turnitin

The third assignment was a dialogue. Learners were given the opportunity to choose their own topics, thus allowing them to take responsibility for their learning and to encourage creativity. The final transactional writing piece was an e-mail.

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In addition, each learner’s progress could be monitored with the Grade Mark feature of Turnitin. The researcher used ATLAS.ti to transcribe and analyse the data sources. The data analysis in this netnographic case study was primarily an inductive process where the data was coded, using open coding and in vivo coding. The qualitative data was electronically saved and transcribed. Member checks ensured that the information was verified by the participants. The adapted conceptual framework was used as a lens to interpret the data sources.

7

Results: Technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK)

7.1 Addressing Learners’ Individual Needs Learners reported on the effectiveness of Turnitin for addressing the individual needs of learners. Turnitin is very learner-centred because the teacher provides guidance by means of individual WCF; thus the Turnitin experience was described by most learners as a personalised learning experience focused on their individual needs. In addition, many of the learners regarded Turnitin as one of the most successful integrations of technology in the FAL classroom and mentioned that it had helped them to improve their Afrikaans FAL skills. Learners reported that their writing skills and language had improved with Turnitin. Learners were provided with feedback in a written individual comment and an audio individual comment, making differentiation possible with the aid of technology. Learners used earphones to listen to the individual audio comment in Turnitin. In this way, individual needs were addressed without making any sounds that could have disturbed the other learners in the class. 7.2 Active Engagement with Feedback Engaging with feedback allows learners to learn from their mistakes and it also prevents them from making the same mistakes again. Turnitin provides an analysis of the types of error that occur. The types of error made by every learner, as well as the progress made or lack thereof, are very useful for setting individual goals for learners. The teacher can follow the learner’s progress via the internet and collect valuable information about her progress as indicated in Fig. 2.4. The learners then engage with the feedback and correct their errors. The number of errors had decreased in comparison with the first draft of the narrative essay which shows an improvement. Turnitin is a very valuable tool for feedback through the Grade Mark option. In addition, the quick

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Sujee

figure 2.4 Analysis of the errors of all the learners on one assignment

mark comment is viewed by the educators as a great asset because it helps with the marking and it gives more weight and depth to the feedback. Saved quick mark comments can be quickly re-used or existing comments can be altered and the typing of comments goes more quickly than the traditional writing of comments. Having assessments online meant that no assignments were lost and there was no need to transport them between home and the office. It is also very easy to convert the learners’ marks into graphs (Fig. 2.5). Learners can compare their own assignments and track their progress or compare it to the whole class.

figure 2.5 Overview of the entire class’s performance on the e-mail

7.3 Collaborative Learning on the Discussion Board By initiating a discussion opportunity on the discussion board (Fig. 2.6), learners reported that they learnt from other learners’ mistakes and they were

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not embarrassed to share their mistakes with and learn from other learners because everyone was involved in the activity. Collaborative learning was taking place in the discussion board. Learners felt that they were not the only ones making mistakes but that everybody was helping each other to correct their mistakes. In addition, when learners correct mistakes in their word and sentence structure and in punctuation they are also learning language. They are thus forced to integrate grammar with creative writing, making the grammar rules so much more meaningful. Learners mentioned that communication between teacher and learner and among the learners themselves had improved.

[Generally speaking, everyone knows what a narrative essay is. There were a few good introductions and conclusions. You must just all remember your paragraphs (which consists of a main idea). Unnecessary spelling mistakes like ‘a’ instead of ‘’n’ must be avoided; it is unnecessary to make such mistakes. Read before you submit your work.] [I’ve learnt a lot. Turnitin helped me to understand where the errors were on my CV. It is an interesting program that works effectively.]

figure 2.6 Discussion board on Turnitin

Interaction on the discussion board emphasises Vygotsky’s (1978) belief that interaction is key to learning. This coincides with Brown’s (1977) statement that a person who is willing to make mistakes is more likely to experience success in second language learning. Accordingly, learners stated that they appreciated the individual feedback that is provided with Turnitin, as is reflected in the following statement: I successfully used technology in Afrikaans when we wrote our transactional essay on our computers and submitted it to Turnitin. It was good because we got personal feedback on our errors. (p. 15) It was interesting to note that one learner reflected on her own learning which the teacher found very valuable for her progress. She reflected that

38

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she thought her vocabulary was insufficient to express her thoughts. Another error that was mentioned was punctuation. One learner reported that she learned that ‘n’ is always written with a small letter. These are some of the small gaps that can be filled by such a collaborate discussion. Other girls learned from her comment on the discussion board. Learners frequently use English words because English is their medium of instruction and making them aware of these words helps them to focus on using the correct Afrikaans words. Words such as “hey”, “cool”, “hello” and “America”, just to name a few, were mentioned. Learners also mentioned spelling mistakes. The teacher had to intervene and give the correct spelling of “foute” because some of the stronger learners were spelling the words incorrectly. The weaker learners learn from the stronger learners; therefore their word order and spelling must be correct in order for other learners to learn the correct spelling and word order. Other common spelling mistakes mentioned were: “kaans”, “kompiteer”, “defnetief”, “problem”, etc. One learner mentioned that she made a mistake when she used the negative form. She forgot that “ooit” change to “nooit”. This is a typical example of the disintegration between the grammar component and the writing component. One of the reflections on the discussion board besides the errors mentioned above was that the learner realised that she has to edit her own work first before submitting it to avoid unnecessary mistakes. Furthermore, in a context that allows interaction and communication, learning is viewed as a social process. In this case study, the classroom and the online environment comprised the social context for learning, allowing learners to work co-operatively. The aim of the discussion board is for the learners to learn from each other. It is also important for the teacher to summarise the main points at the end of the discussion. 7.4 Integration of Content, Pedagogy and Technology A major obstacle in second language acquisition is the fact that learners often fail to see the connection between the oral presentations, writing and grammar structures. They view these as being separate sections of language learning while in fact they are integrated. Learners do not grasp the concept that what you learn about grammar structures must be applied when you do oral presentations, write a creative piece or communicate in the target language and thus do not integrate the different sections. By using the quick mark comments on Turnitin, learners are forced to integrate writing and grammar structures when they correct their word and sentence structure

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39

errors and errors in punctuation. This is one of the great advantages of Turnitin and can contribute to the success of language teaching in the FAL classroom. Another great advantage is that the teacher can provide feedback on Turnitin in any language, because the teacher creates personalised feedback. Having said that, it is also possible to use Turnitin for feedback in any subject, even Art, because of the customised feedback. Turnitin was used in this study as an effective formative assessment tool, though its primary purpose is to detect plagiarism. The use of Turnitin has given rise to a different method of communication and has resulted in spontaneous collaboration between all participants interacting in the target language on the discussion board of Turnitin. This study proves how Turnitin can be utilised in any module or subject because the quick mark comments can be customised. Turnitin proved to be of value to the learners as they want to know where they need to improve and they prefer engaging with written corrective feedback (WCF) and correcting their errors to engagement with no feedback at all. Similarly, this feedback can be given to learners in any subject, any language and any country. The learners want to interact with other learners with different cultures, background, social circles, etc. and learn from them. By actively engaging in their individual written corrective feedback (WCF), learners reflect on their individual mistakes and learn from these mistakes. Thus, learners take ownership of their own learning which results in self-directed learning. Learners are able to monitor their individual progress with the help of the teacher and using Turnitin’s Grade Mark features. In addition, individual learners are provided with support from their more capable peers and the teacher on the discussion board. Another great advantage is that the teacher can provide feedback on Turnitin in any language, because the teacher creates personalised feedback.

8

Conclusion

Learners learn through interaction and collaboration with other learners and, thus, knowledge is a human product. Both the classroom and the online environment in this case study were the social context for learning and enabled the learners to work co-operatively. The discussion board of Turnitin provided a platform for help from capable peers and the teacher (Vygotsky, 1978). Learners were able to ask for help individually while any capable learner or the teacher could help a learner online. The learners acquired the language in a natural setting and all the learners were eager to participate because

40

Sujee

everyone formed part of the discussion board. In addition, the learners were not afraid to make mistakes because each learner was involved and the focus of the discussion board was on solutions for errors made (Krashen, 1982). The learners appreciated the WCF on Turnitin because it helped them identify areas in which they needed to improve while it also highlighted their strengths. Learners learn from one another in a social context and, with the help of the teacher and capable peers, they acquire knowledge and skills through interaction. Thus, their learning is facilitated by social interaction and the learners take responsibility for their own learning by engaging in co-operative and authentic learning tasks and activities. Krashen (1982) views the acquisition of a language in a relaxed, natural environment in which the learners want to listen or contribute as the easiest way of learning a language. Technology may provide such platforms for language learning with learners being exposed both to the target language and to opportunities for interaction in the target language. In addition, learners can also be provided with opportunities to write in the target language (Chapelle, 2009). Technology supplies learners with multiple forms of rich input and interaction.

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Devereux, L., & Wilson, K. (2008). Scaffolding literacies across the bachelor of education program: An argument for a course‐wide approach. Asia‐Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 36(2), 121–134. Ferris, D. R. (2004). The “grammar correction” debate in L2 writing: Where are we, and where do we go from here? (and what do we do in the meantime …?). Journal of Second Language Writing, 13(1), 49–62. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jslw.2004.04.005 Ferris, D. R. (2010). Second language writing research and written corrective feedback in SLA. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 32(2), 181–201. doi:10.1017/ S0272263109990490 Golonka, E. M., Bowles, A. R., Frank, V. M., Richardson, D. L., & Freynik, S. (2014). Technologies for foreign language learning: A review of technology types and their effectiveness. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 27(1), 70–105. doi:10.1080/095 88221.2012.700315 Gordon, J., Halasz, G., Krawczyk, M., Leney, T., Michel, A., Pepper, D., & Wiśniewski, J. (2009). Key competences in Europe: Opening doors for lifelong learners across the school curriculum and teacher education (CASE Network Report No. 87). Warsaw: Center for Social and Economic Research. Greene, J. A., Yu, S. B., & Copeland, D. Z. (2014). Measuring critical components of digital literacy and their relationships with learning. Computers & Education, 76, 55–69. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2014.03.008 Griffee, D. T. (2012). An introduction to second language research methods: Design and data. Berkeley, CA: TESL-EJ Publications. Heckler, N. C., Rice, M., & Bryan, C. H. (2013). Turnitin systems: A deterrent to plagiarism in college classrooms. Journal of Research on Technology in Education (International Society for Technology in Education), 45(3), 229–248. Hine, C. (2005). Virtual methods: Issues in social research on the internet. New York, NY: Berg Publishers. Hobbs, R., Felini, D., & Cappello, G. (2011). Reflections on global developments in media literacy education: Bridging theory and practice. The Journal of Media Literacy Education, 3(2), 66–73. Huffaker, D. (2005). The educated blogger: Using weblogs to promote literacy in the classroom. AACE Journal, 13(2), 91–98. Jewitt, C. (2008). Multimodality and literacy in school classrooms. Review of Research in Education, 32(1), 241–267. Kimmons, R. (2014). Social networking sites, literacy, and the authentic identity problem. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 58(2), 93–98. doi:10.1007/s11528-014-0740-y Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

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Levy, M. (1997). Theory-driven CALL and the development process. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 10(1), 41–56. Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. The Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017–1054. Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2008, March 24–28). Introducing technological pedagogical content knowledge. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY. Murray, L., & Barnes, A. (1998). Beyond the “wow” factor: Evaluating multimedia language learning software from a pedagogical viewpoint. System, 26(2), 249–259. Nelson, J., Christopher, A., & Mims, C. (2009). TPACK and web 2.0: Transformation of teaching and learning. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 53(5), 80–87. doi:10.1007/s11528-009-0329-z Nelson, K. (2008). Teaching in the digital age: Using the internet to increase student engagement and understanding (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Newfield, D., & Maungedzo, R. (2006). Mobilising and modalising poetry in a Soweto classroom. English Studies in Africa, 49(1), 71–93. Nieuwenhuis, J. (2007). Qualitative research designs and data gathering techniques. In K. Maree (Ed.), First steps in research (pp. 69–97). Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers. Owen-Smith, M. (2012). Overcoming inequality in South Africa through multi-bilingual education: A set of teaching methodologies. Paper presented at the Conference ‘Towards Carnegie III’, University of Cape Town, Cape Town. Rolfe, V. (2011). Can Turnitin be used to provide instant formative feedback? British Journal of Educational Technology, 42(4), 701–710. Sheen, Y. (2010). Differential effects of oral and written corrective feedback in the ESL classroom. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 32(2), 203–234. Sujee, E. (2015). The effect of computer technology on learning in a multilinguistic language class (Doctoral dissertation). University of Pretoria, Pretoria. Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital (Vol. 302). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Tondeur, J., van Braak, J., Sang, G., Voogt, J., Fisser, P., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. (2012). Preparing pre-service teachers to integrate technology in education: A synthesis of qualitative evidence. Computers & Education, 59(1), 134–144. Wigglesworth, G., & Storch, N. (2012). What role for collaboration in writing and writing feedback. Journal of Second Language Writing, 21(4), 364–374. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2012.09.005 Zammit, K. P. (2011). Connecting multiliteracies and engagement of students from low socio-economic backgrounds: Using Bernstein’s pedagogic discourse as a bridge. Language and Education, 25(3), 203–220.

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Zhang, G. (2010). Technology uses in creating second language learning environments: When learners are creators (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses database (AAT No. 3417670).

Eva Sujee Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training, South Africa

chapter 3

Electronic-Portfolio Approach to Enhance Self-Directed Learning Maynard van Breda and Michael van Wyk

1

Introduction

The emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR) has increased the scope, velocity, and complexity of the transformation and use of the World Wide Web (Warschauer & Matuchiak, 2010, p. 180). The education sector, in particular higher education, is by no means divorced from this major globalized paradigm shift, and needs to embrace this opportunity to advance the knowledge economy. Education is currently experiencing both rapid changes and difficulties associated with the growth in technology-based networked communities. If the higher education sector is to be relevant and compatible in this context, universities must commit to the process of continuous change, or become redundant (Bates, 2010, p. 15). Given the global trend towards e-learning, one of the key institutional imperatives of the university has been to increase technology-driven, non-venue-based, learning through an ePottfolio approach as an alternative assessment system. The current debate at teacher education faculties about introducing and redesigning learning programs including e-Portfolios or paper-based portfolios as part of the work-integrated learning requirement to train future teachers emerged as an imperative for self-directed and lifelong learning approaches. Emancipating and transforming teacher education programs for a quality education system needs creative and innovative strategies to empower student teachers for the classroom of the future. The electronic portfolio (e-Portfolio) is an important tool currently used to support and document the personal, professional, and intellectual development of student teachers in their quest to become self-directed learners. Therefore, this chapter will conceptualize and contextualize the use of the e-Portfolio as an alternative assessment approach at a South African open distance learning university. To this end, e-Portfolios in teacher education programs are conceptualized in relation to a number of underpinning theories. Specific reference is made to the Review and Reconfiguration of the University of South Africa (Unisa) Assessments Systems and Practices Project (2013–2020). The use of e-Portfolios is discussed © koninklijke brill nv, leideN, 2018 | DOI 10.1163/9789004366077_003

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as a multimodal evidence-based strategy in an open distance learning (ODeL) context. The educational value of e-Portfolios and the reasons for having student teachers compile them are highlighted. Furthermore, the transnationalness of the use of e-Portfolios within the Unisa ODeL learning context is presented. Finally, this chapter concludes with specific suggestions for good practices for authentic learning using the e-Portfolio as an empowering tool in promoting self-directed learning and a performance achievement-driven approach.

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Conceptualization and Contextualization of E-Portfolios

A portfolio, whether electronic (the e-Portfolio) or paper-based, is more than an organized collection of work selected and then presented to demonstrate authors’ or students’ learning progress and intellectual growth over time. The literature refers to “digital teaching portfolios” (Reynolds & Patton, 2014), “online teaching portfolios” (Boulton, 2014) and “electronic portfolios” (Garrett, 2011), but we have opted for the term “e-Portfolio” throughout this chapter. E-Portfolios are currently gradually being introduced in teacher education programs in teaching practice in particular at most higher education institutions. Typically, e-Portfolios entail the use of computer technology to collect and store evidence in various formats including audio, photo, video or text, and they have become increasingly popular among educators and students as learning tools. Garrett (2011) defines an e-Portfolio as “a compilation of evidence which contains artefacts of curricula in the sense that they contain objects made by human beings which are characteristic of a particular classroom” (p. 175). E-Portfolios have been used in many disciplines and subjects including art, music, the sciences, architecture, composition, nursing and teacher medical education since the mid-1980s (Haave, 2016), and they hold particular value in the areas of assessment and course evaluation. In this regard, Bates (2010) states that “e-portfolios enable faculty to see first-hand not only what students are learning, but how they are learning” (p. 15), and that “e-portfolios also can play a role in assessing the effectiveness of the courses, curricula, and even institutions” (p. 16). Research shows that e-Portfolio pedagogy can be used as an alternative method of assessment (showcasing skills and achievements, reflection and the use of appropriate communication modalities) (Boulton, 2014, p. 375; Boulton & Hramiak, 2012, p. 10; Fitzpatrick & Spiller, 2010; Groom & Maunonen-Eskelinen, 2006, p. 291), encourages constructivist and connectivist approaches to teaching and learning (Rolheiser & Schwartz, 2001, p. 283; Wray, 2007a), and creates meaningful assessment practices for self-directed learning (Jones, 2010, p. 269; Robichaux & Guarino, 2012). Therefore, e-Portfolios are critical instruments for managing each student’s academic progress, and they

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can also play an important role in managing the performance and progress of an entire education system (Arslam, 2014; Fisher, Cheung, Pickard, Chen, Cheung, & Wong, 2011, p. 420; Trevitt, Macduff, & Steed, 2013; Wray, 2007b). Both Quinlan (2002) and Garrett (2011, p. 189) are of the opinion that e-Portfolios hold significant advantages over paper-based alternatives because they are easily accessible online and the end users (learners, educators, parents and school principals) can access e-Portfolios from computers, cell phones or other devices. According to these authors, e-Portfolios can be accessed by lecturers to issue assignments, and by students to access assignments through an online platform anytime and anywhere. Chappuis, Stiggins, Arter, and Chappuis (2005) regard e-Portfolios as an effective alternative method of assessment that encourages students and educators to examine skills, such as higher order thinking, communications, and collaborative abilities, that may not otherwise be assessed using traditional means. Constructing e-Portfolios of evidence of achievement is becoming increasingly common in higher education, in particular teacher education, as a means to allow student teachers to compile a range of artefacts to be presented for assessment and alternative assessment in ODeL. Alternative assessment in an ODeL setting will be discussed in more detail in the latter part of this chapter. Compared with paper-based portfolios, the most significant feature of e-Portfolios is their potential to include multimedia elements such as text, graphics, video, audio, photos and animation, connected by hyperlinks, to provide a comprehensive rendition of reflective thoughts through the learning process. E-Portfolios provide a well-organized structure for student teachers to communicate and reflect on their learning. In compiling artefacts in their e-Portfolio, student teachers externalize their learning through specific evidence produced and collected over a period of time. Moreover, e-Portfolios allow student teachers to build evidence of achievement (Race, 2015). Not only do e-Portfolios allow students to swiftly plan, organize and showcase their educational or professional achievements in digital format, but they also offer them opportunities to learn about key features of content and how to arrange it according to specific needs (Van Niekerk, 2015). According to Boulton and Hramiak (2012), an e-Portfolio in its simplest form refers to the collection and compilation of evidence in electronic format of work which demonstrates knowledge, skills, attitudes and constructive feedback. One of the most important goals of e-Portfolios is to teach students how to learn and improve academic performance (Tanner, 2012), which occurs when evidence of their learning is collected and they write about the process followed in producing their work. Writing about how they produced their work affords students a valuable opportunity to engage in reflection, which connects their different educational experiences, and to assess the benefits of the experience

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and how it could be improved for the next learning opportunity (Haave, 2016, p. 8). Van Niekerk (2015) identifies the general advantages and disadvantages of e-Portfolios to illustrate their value as an innovative learning and teaching strategy in Table 3.1. table 3.1  Advantages and disadvantages of an e-Portfolio

Advantages – Students have the opportunity to discover and explore their role as learners, make connections and integrate their learning. – Metacognitive skills are developed. – Co-construction of certain work could develop constructivism in students and co-creation of knowledge. – Students are eager to learn new technologies, but may be discouraged if ICT systems are not functioning properly and material is lost. – E-Portfolios provide more authentic methods of summative assessment. – Students and academics have an entire year of trial and error to work out how the e-Portfolio functions. – A scoring rubric is used for assessment to ensure transparency and consistency of assessment. – Students are able to engage with their peers and work interactively, which allows for self-assessment measured in terms of their own performance. – Students can reflect on their learning and become critical learners and practitioners. – Students can assess their own progress and make improvements when needed. – Turnitin can be used.

Disadvantages – Students can do some activities, write short reflections and add a few pictures, and then have an e-Portfolio. – Students could just copy and paste information into the e-Portfolio. – Students who do not take part in team assignments with their peers will not be able to develop constructivism skills and expertise. – There is tension between ICT and the e-Portfolio tool at Unisa, and this need to be resolved. – Both academics and students fijind e-Portfolios difffijicult to master without training; participants require intensive guidance and support. – Initially the process might be stressful for both academics and students. – Students must be motivated to work on the e-Portfolio throughout the academic year. – There is a possibility of plagiarism and cheating. – If students cannot apply critical thinking, the e-Portfolio may fail to develop critical practitioners. – Metacognitive skills are needed for reflection, and this skill cannot be taught by means of written work only. – Students and stafff do not always read policies.

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Electronic-Portfolio Approach – Students have access to the information while they are registered. – E-portfolios are environmentally friendly. – Scafffolding is best done by using technology (deep learning, interaction, feedback, growth and integrative learning). – E-Portfolios can easily be integrated into the assessment processes of the institution as an ODeL environment. – The use of rubrics for e-Portfolio assessment ensures quality, fairness and validity of the assessment process. – One assessor will ensure quality assurance in marking the e-Portfolio. – The feedback process throughout the year ensures deep learning in students. – E-portfolio learning goes beyond graduation. – Students develop into self-authors. – Students create their own journey using links and navigation tools, and demonstrate learning in multiple modes, including visual, oral and written.

– It may be time consuming to use Turnitin in portfolio assessment, and the need for extra assistance in this regard should be explored. – E-portfolio content might be lost after the student graduates. – ICT might be expensive and difffijicult to access. – There may be ICT downtime in extremely busy times, such as the end of the year. – Scafffolding can happen only if the users are familiar with the technology. – If the e-Portfolio assessment process is not integrated into the assessment process of the university, quality assurance is problematic. – Multiple assessors could have a negative efffect on the quality assurance of marking e-Portfolios. High student numbers could pose a problem. – Marking of multiple versions of the assignments together with the e-Portfolio could result in superfijicial marking and feedback, and student growth and development could sufffer as a result. – Access to portfolio information for students who completed their degrees must be addressed after graduation.

Source: Adapted and revised from Van Niekerk, (2015, p. 4)

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Basic Components of E-Portfolios

Barton and Collin (as cited in Chantanarungpak, 2015) discuss the following four components of e-Portfolios: – Objectives – these refer to the content and purpose of the e-Portfolio. In the present context the general objectives include the completion of the

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curriculum, self-evaluation through reflection and assessing student teachers’ abilities to teach. – Content – this includes evidence of the successful achievement of the learning objectives. The content comprises three parts, namely the selected words, students’ learning reflection and evidence that demonstrates students’ development. – Timeline – this refers to planning in terms of when an e-portfolio will be evaluated. The basic processes involved are self-evaluation and reflection. For self-evaluation, students evaluate their achievement by using rubric scoring. Reflection provides students with the opportunity to consider their thought processes without being inhibited by the notion that the correct answer is the only educational goal. Rather, students need to understand that how they problem-solve and think critically is also part of their learning, and that focusing solely on the correct answer can sometimes interfere with deeper learning. – Evaluation – this involves assessing the compatibility of e-Portfolios against pre-determined objectives based on evidence of learning. The e-Portfolio is evaluated by rubric scoring.

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Review and Reconfiguration of the University of South Africa (Unisa) Assessments Systems and Practices Project (2013–2020)

The material for this chapter is based on work done in the College of Education at the University of South Africa (Unisa). This university has been the custodian of distance education for the past 143 years both in South Africa and in Africa. Assessment is part of the technology-integrated ODeL core of teaching and learning business at this university. Unisa has therefore implemented its Review and Reconfiguration of the Unisa Assessments Systems and Practices Project to improve the quality of tuition, assessment, research and community engagement so that students continue to strive to become selfdirected learners. Given the global trend towards open distance e-learning, one of the key institutional imperatives of this project has been to pilot or test a technology-driven non-venue-based summative assessment system. This component of the project has become known as the Alternative Assessment Project. It was decided to use the higher education quality criteria (Department of Higher Education and Training, 2012) relating to assessment to benchmark the current Unisa assessment practices by asking colleges to evaluate their own practices against them. A number of modules were identified for participation in the alternative assessment component. Most of these were undergraduate modules for which only a small number of students had enrolled, and were led by lecturers who were willing to innovate and experiment. The alternative

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assessment types identified were: take-home assessments (including timed assessments and multiple-choice questions), portfolios paper-based and e-Portfolios), webinars, peer review assessment and continuous assessment. The purpose of the e-Portfolio as a non-venue-based summative examination is to comply with the need for integrative learning at Unisa. Van Niekerk (2015) posits that the use of e-Portfolios is a suitable means to pursue more creative and authentic learning and assessment practices in ODeL. When embarking on the implementation of e-Portfolios as an innovative teaching and learning strategy, it is important to consider their aims and purpose. In the case of Unisa, one of the vital aims of e-Portfolios is to provide a means to assess students’ work and to help them to reflect on what they have mastered while engaged in the learning process, and how they have done this. Another critical aim is to create opportunities for integrated learning, which has become an indispensable element in higher education. E-Portfolios can also be used to share information such as feedback on assessment, for collaborative learning, and to promote social aspects or networks (Van Niekerk). Unisa and other ODL institutions in Africa and globally share the aim of producing well-grounded graduates with the relevant knowledge and skills to become self-directed learners and autonomous critical thinkers. Self-directed learning (SDL) is an umbrella term for various learning processes related to goal-directed, self-controlled learning behavior. Beckers, Dolmans, and van Merriënboer (2016) define SDL as: A process in which individuals take the initiative with or without the help of others in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes. (p. 2) One way to facilitate the acquisition of self-directed learning skills is to make use of e-Portfolios, because they are viewed as offering a number of advantages over traditional paper-based portfolios. These include access, the ability to include multimedia, and facilitated overviews of personal development. Moreover, e-Portfolios have been found to motivate students more than paperbased portfolios.

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The Use of E-Portfolios as a Multimodal Evidence-Based Strategy in an ODeL Environment

The e-Portfolio is a multimodal evidence-based tool currently in use in most teacher education programs at higher education institutions locally and

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globally (Boulton, 2014), where they are used as an alternative assessment tool for student teacher empowerment and promotion. Currently, teacher education programs at institution of higher learning require student teachers to compile either a paper-based portfolio or an e-Portfolio of evidence as part of teaching practice qualification (Groom & Maunonen-Eskelinen, 2006). Student teachers place specific evidence in their e-Portfolios throughout their teaching practice period (Jones, 2010) for feedback or final assessment. Student teachers must produce authentic evidence for the e-Portfolio in the form of original pieces that they have designed, developed or created, such as specific lesson plans, lesson videos, podcasts, graphics, PowerPoint lesson presentations, individual or group assignments, research projects, teaching practice DVDs, photos as part of the lesson, a reflective journal, self-designed educational media, and social media (blogs, wikis, Twitter or Facebook posts, etc.). Scholars are of the view that the e-Portfolio compiled by a student teacher provides an indication that the student is able to demonstrate the required knowledge, skills and attitudes in compiling specific artefacts (Guarino & Robichaux, 2012; Zeichner & Wray, 2001; Shulman, 1992; Murphy, 1994). Lyons (1998, p. 14) emphasizes that an e-Portfolio is a file of authentic evidence produced by students to showcase what, why and how they have learnt. It reflects a student teacher’s personal growth and demonstrates specific knowledge and skills acquired during the learning program. This means that student teachers use the e-Portfolio to reflect, engage and collaborate, and to enhance active authentic learning. Student teachers develop an e-Portfolio for the purpose of self-directed learning (formative assessment), assessment (summative assessment) and employability (Lam, 2015). A recent literature review by Boulton (2014) identifies learning, professional development, assessment, job applications, and promotions as key indicators for using e-Portfolios. Fisher et al. (2011) investigated the use of digital portfolios at the School for Teacher Education at the City of University of Hong Kong. Findings of the study revealed that digital portfolios were integrated as part of personal growth to achieve objectives such as developing personal growth plans, improving and acknowledging measurable standards and creating self-efficacy of student teachers. E-portfolios are considered to be both a process (workspace) and a product (showcase), while the approach taken when assigning an e-Portfolio can be either structured (for institutional assessment) or expressive (students have a choice as to what is included, and use their own voice). In general, the e-Portfolio is a means to enhance personal growth and professional development, and to present the following: – Daily representations of teaching practice lessons;

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– Mentor feedback and engagement with key stakeholders such as learners, parents and school communities, and – Reflective commentary on daily teaching practice. In the next paragraph, we focus on an integrated framework developed as means to balance between technologies, an e-Portfolio tool, for an ODeL context.

figure 3.1 Balancing technology, e-Portfolio tool, integrative learning, reflection, connections, lifelong learning, communication quality and authentic assessment in ODeL (adapted from van Niekerk, 2015, p. 2)

Reynolds and Patton published a book entitled Leveraging the e-Portfolio for Integrative Learning: A Faculty Guide to Classroom Practices for Transforming Student Learning. The authors argue (2014) that, “the true work of creating a transformational e-Portfolio is not in the actual making of the e-Portfolio … but in the process of integrating one’s own learning,” which allows students “to be able to connect knowledge they are learning and apply it to the problems of the day” (p. 3). The authors pronounce practical guidelines why and how faculties need to balance an integrative learning approach by using the e-Portfolio framework to transforming student self-regulated learning in their respective curricula. Furthermore, they purposefully provided an intended overview of their text as practical guide for lecturers and students. It is therefore evident from Reynolds and Patton view that to achieve the outcome of an integrated learning framework for building the e-Portfolio, it is not possible without noteworthy approaches used by lecturers and students in an open distance context. Figure 3.1 adapted from van Niekerk (2015) presents the balance between technology, an e-Portfolio tool, integrative learning, reflection, connections,

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lifelong learning, communication quality and authentic assessment in ODeL by using e-Portfolios. In the context of Unisa, students are required to use the e-Portfolio as a tool for assist them in making connections between and beyond their coursework. The type of focus for the e-Portfolio is an important consideration for how students use this tool. If lecturers require of students to use the e-Portfolio as an assessment tool for their work, then the focus is on content only. If must think and reflect on what they have learnt, a pure focus on content is simply not enough. Furthermore, if students are required to have an integrated learning experience, they must use the whole range of activities at their disposal including the following: – – – –

6

artefacts (assignments and files) or demonstrations of learning reflections on their work (artefacts) connections made between content in the e-Portfolio use of the e-Portfolio for identity development by connecting the self, content and the e-Portfolio (van Niekerk, 2015).

Theoretical Framework Underpinning E-Portfolios

Social network theory: This a paradigm used by scholars to explore phenomena by using an online platform to connect with individuals or groupings. This type of network is characterized by social collaboration, interaction, sharing and building of social relationships in an online interconnected environment (Haythornthwaite, 2010; Siemens, 2013). This theory partially underpins this chapter. It is a relatively new phenomenon in teacher education and in teacher education in the ODeL context in particular. This popular paradigm is situated within the social constructivism, sociology and organizational behavior domains (Uzzi, 1996). Social network theory facilitates the examination of student teachers’ views on compiling evidence in an e-Portfolio to enhance self-directed learning within an ODeL teacher education course. In this particular space, specific interrelationships among students are framed. It must be noted that lecturers often view new technologies as threatening their scholarly authority because these technologies require a re-thinking of roles. However, this threat only materializes if we stay locked in a binary framework of lecturer versus student teacher. Situated learning theory (SLT): Classical social learning theorists such as John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, Albert Bandura and others are of the view that learning is constructed in different settings. Emanating from the classical theoretical perspective, this phenomenon was eventually coined as “situated learning” by Lave and Wenger (1991). Furthermore, Clancey (1995) extended this construct

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as an instructional means whereby learners are actively involved in meaningful learning. SLT as a learning theory was developed by Lave and Wenger (1991), and coined as communities of practice (CoP) learning theory. In CoPs, groups share the same interest to achieve mutual reward. CoP learning theory is based on three dimensions, namely joint enterprise, mutual engagement and shared repertoire (Wenger, 1998). This concept has been embraced and used for the past two decades in educational research projects globally. However, there are no clear directions for using CoP in an ODeL environment. Churchman and Stehlik (2005) argue that CoP is a vital construct for scholarly discovery and is employed regularly throughout learning programs. There is a dearth of literature showing that CoPs are viewed as a useful empowering tool for student teacher development, and for this reason this chapter explores the usefulness of e-Portfolio implementation in an ODeL educational context. Self-regulated/directed learning theory: This is an overarching concept related to a learning-oriented and performance achievement-oriented approach. This theory focuses on numerous learning processes related to outcomes-driven, self-controlled learning behavior Paris & Paris, 2001; Zimmerman, 2000). Knowles (1975), the father of self-regulated learning (SRL) or self-directed learning (SDL) theory, defines SDL as: “A process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes” (p. 15). Zimmerman (2000) concurs, stating that this phenomenon “refers to self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions that are planned and cyclically adapted to the attainment of personal goals” (p. 14). Paris and Paris (2001) describe SRL as characterized by autonomy of and control by the individual, who monitors, directs, and regulates actions toward the goals of information acquisition, expanding expertise, and selfimprovement. As indicated earlier, e-Portfolios as an empowering strategy can be used for the enhancement of SDL skills for personal growth and professional development. With reference to this chapter, the objective of identified undergraduate and postgraduate modules was to equip students with subject content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, skills, values, principles, methods and procedures to understand and explain orally and in writing the relevant theory of teaching in a problem-based education environment by using the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) to become competent teachers for grades 10 to 12 (Department of Basic Education, 2011, p. 5). In planning, developing and compiling multiple pieces for the e-Portfolios, student teachers take full responsibility for their own learning. They become directly involved in how and why they are learning specific content. After completing all the elements, students showcase how they apply pedagogical

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knowledge in practice to teach, apply various teaching methods, develop competence in assessment practices, understand the principles of organizing and implement the CAPS curriculum. Student teachers are required to have a fundamental understanding of curriculum theory. Therefore, it is imperative that student teachers be empowered with the ability to think critically and reflect holistically as self-directed learners to advance quality education for all in South African schools.

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The Educational Value of E-Portfolios

The literature shows a number of advantages of using e-Portfolios in teacher education programs, such as enhancing lifelong learning, reflective teaching skills, increased pedagogical and technical content knowledge, values, beliefs and positive attitudes (Belgard, 2013; Garret, 2011). Throughout the process of collecting, compiling and reflecting on authentic evidence, student teachers are taking ownership of their learning as they strive to produce the best possible e-Portfolio. Belgard (2013) explains that compiling and sharing evidence in the e-Portfolio enables students to develop their collaborative skills. Scholars agree that teachers can share and critique information in the e-Portfolio for assessment purposes. Additionally, the value of e-Portfolios lies in the fact that student teachers can share information, collaborate to complete tasks, reflect critically about their writing and critique one another’s work in a collegial manner. Scholars of classroom-based assessment postulate that there are multimodal evidence-based assessment practices that can be employed to assess the outcomes of e-Portfolios for self-directed learning (Carless, 2011; Earl, 2013). These include: assessment of learning (AoL), assessment for learning (AfL) and assessment as learning (AaL). In short, AoL refers to summative assessment in the form of grading or marking a test students have written or an assignment they have completed. The ultimate objective is to allocate marks or a grading according to a set of outcomes to be achieved. AfL defines student learning as guided by consistent, constructive feedback using an alternative assessment process to improve learning, including e-Portfolios, classroom observations, and peer and self-assessment. On the other hand, AaL underlines student leaning as dynamic, involving participative agents who develop a “critical inquiry stance and use metacognitive capacity in selfevaluating the strengths and weaknesses of their learning in relation to specific criteria-references” (Dann, 2014; Earl, 2013). In conclusion, an e-Portfolio is an online learning file created through an online learning management system by students to showcase and demonstrate

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authentic learning experiences, performance and achievements as evidence of achievement of learning outcomes over time. From the latter it can be deduced that an e-Portfolio is both a process (a series of activities) and a product (the end result of the e-Portfolio process) demonstrated by students’ competency in reflecting and collaborating as central activities in self-directed learning.

8

Suggestions for Good Practice for Authentic Learning Using E-Portfolios

The successful use of e-Portfolios is largely dependent on students’ understanding of their purpose, and should be closely aligned with their goals and values. This close alignment requires a class discussion to ensure that teachers’ and students’ understanding of what and why they are teaching and learning are the same. At Unisa and at other ODeL institutions, the prime objective is to produce graduates who are self-directed and autonomous students and thinkers. The implementation of an e-Portfolio in an ODeL setting could greatly assist in nurturing students to achieve selfdirected learning. However, successful implementation of the e-Portfolio commences with curriculum design, model design, assessment design and planning, student support and the planning of deep learning activities using self-directed and constructivist teaching and learning pedagogies (Van Niekerk, 2015). 8.1 Planning: Model Design – The use of an e-Portfolio must be considered as early as the curriculum planning and module design stages, as the e-Portfolio will be used for summative assessment or as a non-venue-based examination. The design of each module needs to be planned with regard to the outcomes of the learning and purposes of the e-Portfolio. In addition to relating to the learning objectives and grading criteria for an e-Portfolio assignment, providing students with leading questions to guide them with their critical self-reflection also helps to orient them to the uses and processes associated with the production of an e-Portfolio. Students are typically unaccustomed to the reflective process required for metacognition. However, leading questions and explicit prompting can help scaffold students’ construction of their e-Portfolio and the metacognitive activity that results in deeper learning. – The level of student maturity needs to be considered, as advanced technological skills are needed for the effective implementation of the e-Portfolio.

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– Student identification must be considered seriously and contingency plans have to be in place in order to master the marking and extensive feedback, feedforward and student support required by the use of e-Portfolios. – Policies guiding the use of e-Portfolios as well as the required ICT architecture must be in place. 8.2 Planning: Assessment Design – The e-Portfolio is most suitable for online modules, since students have already been exposed to the online learning environment and should have the necessary ICT access. – The lecturer should create a feedback form on which students can comment on their experience of using the e-Portfolio. It is at the discretion of the lecturer whether this should form part of the assessment or whether other means should be introduced to ensure submission of feedback. – A contingency plan should be in place to take into account the possibility of system failure or problems on the student’s side. – Students must be notified on registering for the module, or even before this, that an e-Portfolio as a non-venue-based examination will be used for summative assessment, and they must be informed of the technological requirements for the use of an e-Portfolio. 8.3 Planning: The Assessment Plan – Quality assurance in summative assessment in the form of a non-venuebased examination must be clearly stated. – Students need to sign a declaration that the work in the e-Portfolio is their own. – The Turnitin policy and procedure must be provided. – To reduce strain on the system, and to avoid possible examination clashes, scheduling of e-Portfolio submission dates should take into account peak periods when large numbers of students access the system. – Dates for a trial run as well as the final assessment dates need to be scheduled well in advance and must be part of the assessment plan. – An internal examiner policy for the e-Portfolio is required. – Moderation options and guidelines for the e-Portfolio should be in place. 8.4 Planning: Instructional Design – The primary lecturer must issue a tutorial letter setting out the general assignment requirements in the usual way. Additional information for e-Portfolio use should be included. – Specific system/hardware/software requirements for the use of the e-Portfolio must be summarized briefly in the tutorial letter. This tutorial

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letter should be revised annually by ICT to ensure that it contains the current requirements. – Students should be required to do a connectivity test on the devices they will be using for the e-Portfolio. – Students should sign a declaration to be submitted to the lecturer stating that they have access to the required hardware and the necessary connectivity. 8.5 Student Support and Constructive Feedback The Unisa 2030 mission statement affirms the unique character of the institution, stating specifically that it is the only dedicated, comprehensive open distance learning higher education institution in South Africa. Furthermore, the mission statement foregrounds quality scholarship culminating in the success and graduation of students who will make a difference in the service of humanity. Given Unisa’s size and the particular teaching and learning pedagogy and modalities applied, optimal implementation of e-Portfolios requires a robust, stable, cutting-edge ICT infrastructure and platform. However, the relatively large proportion of Unisa’ student community who do not have access to the required equipment and software at home are supported in the following ways: – Unisa’s multipurpose regional centers are equipped with ICT infrastructure to support those students who, due to socio-economic factors, lack the means to afford these. – Students and academics are issued with a professional vodcast/DVD on the use and management of teaching and learning tools such as Mahara to enable them to understand their role in the teaching–learning partnership. 8.6 Guidelines for an Alternative Assessment Approach with E-Portfolios Scholars argue that the development of an evidence-based approach to e-Portfolios is at the heart of documenting life learning experiences in teacher education programs (Quinlan, 2002; Wang, 2010). Arslam (2014) posits that e-Portfolios serve the purpose of supporting students and faculty in evaluating progress made in relation to personal growth and academic achievements. Moreover, Lyons (1998) state that the purpose of using e-Portfolios as an alternative assessment tool is to develop students’ pedagogical content knowledge and reflective practice. An e-Portfolio can therefore be used for assessment for learning (summative), assessment of learning (formative feedback) and assessment as learning (peer and self-assessment). An e-Portfolio is “a digitised collection of artefacts including demonstrations, resources and accomplishments that represent an individual, group or institution” (Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005). It is a digital repository for a range of

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learning materials, including those produced for course-based assessment. e-Portfolios can provide ways for students to use feedback from assessment to support their learning. The ability to collect, reflect and connect aligns with assessment-as-learning principles. According to Van Niekerk (2015), the most common strategy for assessing e-Portfolios is rubrics. Many institutions of higher learning across the world have adopted rubrics for marking individual assignments and e-Portfolios in order to achieve greater transparency. A rubric is a scoring tool that lists the criteria for a piece of work or identifies what counts in a piece of work or writing. Two significant advantages of a rubric are that it ensures that students receive feedback and feedforward on time, which helps them to think critically about their work, and that it assists teachers and lecturers in refining their teaching and levelling the playing field for students. Reflective practice is part of all e-Portfolio systems. Student reflections are used to assess their writing and thinking about their learning experiences. To this end, it must be made clear that the assessment of the e-Portfolio includes different levels of assessment and therefore different rubrics, such as the following: – – – –

9

Rubric for scoring writing skills Rubric for a student journal Rubric for critical thinking Rubric for the holistic e-Portfolio assessment

UNISA as Transnational Collaborative ODeL University

Bates (2010) is of the view that education is experiencing rapid changes and challenges due to an increase in technology-based network communities. In order for the higher education sector to be relevant and compatible in this challenging society, universities are compelled to either commit to the process of continuous change, or become redundant, if not adapt to a transnational accommodative agenda. Most developing countries today are facing the challenge of trying to increase enrolment in higher education but to do so in ways that are affordable and sustainable. This has led to Transnational Education (TNE), that is described as the provision of educational qualifications across geographical borders, emerging as an area of significant and growing interest in the higher education sector (Asia-Pacific European Cooperation, 2013). When online assessment commenced more than two decades ago, many universities envisioned the creation of international student markets,

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which however has only recently become a reality. In addition, the growth and development of a global economy, advances in technology, increased market competition, reduced funding and the increasing desire to obtain degrees from internationally recognized universities have further created opportunities that promote TNE and transnational qualifications. The University of South Africa (UNISA), the only African open distance e-learning university in the service of humanity, was and will be the driver for the agenda of transnationalism. For example, the past ten years, UNISA has been increased its distance education footprint across borders, globally and established several Memoranda of Understanding (MUOs) with open distance universities to expand it transnationalism agenda. Transnational partnership agreements with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (India), the Open University (UK); University of Massachusetts (USA), Athabasca University (Canada) and Makerere University (Uganda). These transnational agreements included research, tuition and internationalisation. UNISA has been the custodian of distance education in South Africa, Africa and globally. It plays an important role in providing quality distance learning to our vast student population and will do so in the next 100 years of open distance e-education, as driver toward equal learning opportunities across southern African and Africa. Central to the use of ODeL as in the case of Unisa, is the design and development of learning resources appropriate for largely independent learning. While core learning resources can and should be shared, the learning experience should be contextually and culturally grounded by adapting and creating meaningful ODeL informed learning environments for Unisa students who are not only scattered across the African continent, but in intercontinental contexts as well. To this end, the increasing availability of Open Educational Resources (OER) widens the scope of sources of information that is available. Perhaps more importantly, OER opens up greater possibility for adapting learning material for a better fit not only with local contextual and cultural needs, but to address the learning needs of Unisa students who find themselves far beyond the borders of South Africa. On a practical level, the use of e-Portfolio enables students in local and transnational learning environments to quickly plan, organize and showcase their educational or professional digital portfolio. The use of an e-Portfolio is a natural fit to pursue more creative and authentic learning, teaching and assessment practices in ODeL which comply with the need for integrative learning at Unisa and to be used as a non-venue-based summative examination. In addition, the e-Portfolio user is in a position to engage with key features of learning content and consequently rearrange it according to specific and local needs.

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Conclusion

In this chapter, we have sought to outline how e-Portfolios as an empowering tool are potentially an attractive device for fostering self-directed learning and provide evidence of achievement for assessment purposes, particularly in the context of a teacher education course at an ODeL university. The use of e-Portfolios in teacher education programmes is at the centre of global debate to empower students with creative, innovative and problem solving skills for the global challenges. UNISA as a distance education university in the service of humanity started in 2013 introducing in colleges an alternative assessment strategy by introducing and redesigning learning programs by including e-Portfolios as part of the work-integrated learning requirement to train future teachers. For example, this was spearheaded by the Review and Reconfiguration of the UNISA Assessments Systems and Practices Project. This project uses the e-Portfolio approach as a multimodal evidence-based strategy in some modules and courses in an open distance e-learning (ODeL) context. To advances the use of e-Portfolios, we adapted an integrated framework as a guideline. The educational value, reasons and specific suggestions were formulated using the e-Portfolio as an empowering tool in promoting self-directed learning and a performance achievement-driven approach. Finally, the transnationalness aspect of the use of an e-Portfolio as a technological tool to facilitate teaching and assessment beyond the borders of South Africa is covered.

References Arslam, R. S. (2014). Integrating feedback into prospective English Language teachers’ writing process via blogs and portfolios. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 13(1), 131–150. Bates, T. (2010). New challenges for universities: Why they must change. In U.-D. Ehlers & D. Schneckenberg (Eds.), Changing cultures in higher education: Moving ahead to future learning (pp. 15–25). Heidelberg: Springer. Beckers, J., Dolmans, D., & van Merriënboer, J. (2016). E-portfolios enhancing students’ self-directed learning: A systematic review of influencing factors. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 32(2), 32–46. Belgard, S. F. (2013). Portfolios and e-portfolios: Student reflection, self-assessment and goal setting in the learning process. In J. H. McMillan (Ed.), Sage handbook of research on classroom assessment (pp. 331–346). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Boulton, H. (2014). E-portfolios beyond pre-service teacher education: A new dawn? European Journal of Teacher Education, 37(3), 374–389.

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Boulton, H., & Hramiak, A. (2012). E-flection: The development of reflective communities of learning for trainee teachers through the use of shared online web logs. Reflective Practice: International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 13(4), 503–515. Carless, D. (2011). From testing to productive student learning: Implementing formative assessment in Confucian-heritage settings. New York, NY: Routledge. Chantanarungpak, K. (2015). Using e-portfolio on social. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 186(2015), 1275–1281. Chappuis, S., Stiggins, R., Arter, J. A., & Chappuis, J. (2005). Assessment for learning: An action guide for school leaders. Portland, OR: ETS Assessment Training Institute. Churchman, D. (2005). Safeguarding academic communities: Retaining texture and passion in the academy. In T. Stehlik & P. Carden (Eds.), Beyond communities of practice: Theory as experience. Flaxton: Post Pressed. Clancey, W. J. (1995). A tutorial on situated learning. Retrieved from http://methodenpool.unikoeln.de/situierteslernen/clancey_situated_learning.PDF Dann, R. (2014). Assessment as learning: Blurring the boundaries of assessment and learning for theory, policy and practice. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 21(2), 149–166. Department of Basic Education. (2011). National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for economics 10–12 (Gazette No. 3400). Pretoria: Government Printer. Department of Higher Education and Training. (2012). Higher education and training laws amendment act 23 of 2012. Pretoria: Government Printer. Earl, L. M. (2013). Assessment as learning: Using classroom assessment to maximize student learning (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Fisher, D., Cheung, H., Pickard, V., Chen, J., Cheung, T., & Wong, A. (2011). Integrating ePortfolios into teaching and learning: 10 CityU case studies. Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong. Retrieved from http://www.cityu.edu.hk/edge/eportfolio/ Fitzpatrick, M. A., & Spiller, D. (2010). The teaching portfolio: Institutional imperative or teacher’s personal journey? Higher Education Research and Development, 29(2), 167–178. Garret, N. (2011). An e-portfolio design supporting ownership, social learning, and ease of use. Educational Technology & Society, 14(1), 187–202. Groom, B., & Maunonen-Eskelinen, I. (2006). The use of portfolios to develop reflective practice in teacher training: A comparative and collaborative approach between two teacher training providers in the UK and Finland. Teaching in Higher Education, 11(3), 291–300. Haave, N. (2016). E-portfolios rescue biology students from a poorer final exam result: Promoting student metacognition. Edmonton: Department of Science, Augustana campus, University of Alberta. Haythornthwaite, C. (2010). Social networks and information transfer. In M. J. Bates & M. N. Maack (Eds.), Encyclopedia of library and information sciences. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.

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Wang, L. (2010). Integrating communities of practice in e-portfolios assessment: Effects and experiences of mutual assessment in an online course. Internet and Higher Education, 13(4), 267–271. Warschauer, M., & Matuchiak, T. (2010). New technology and digital worlds: Analysing evidence of equity in access, use, and outcomes. Review of Research in Education, 34(1), 179–224. doi:10.31202/0091732x09349791 Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wray, S. (2007a). Supporting teacher candidates during the electronic portfolio development process. E-Learning and Digital Media, 4(4), 454–463. Wray, S. (2007b). Teaching portfolios, community, and pre-service teachers’ professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(7), 1139–1152. Zeicher, K., & Wray, S. (2001). The teaching portfolio in US teacher education programs: What we know and what we need to know. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(5), 613–621. Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Attaining self-regulation: A social cognitive perspective. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 13–39). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Maynard van Breda University of South Africa, South Africa Michael van Wyk University of South Africa, South Africa

Part 2 Transnational Asian and Middle East Perspectives

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chapter 4

On or Off-Line: Dilemmas in Using Online Teaching-Learning in In-Service Teacher Education Orly Sela

1

Introduction and Literature Review

There is a general agreement that the use of technology in education is here to stay (Johnson, Adams, & Haywood, 2011; Murthy, Iyer, & Warriem, 2015). Specifically, there is ample evidence that online education is becoming more and more common around the world, both in K-12 and in academic institutions (Friedman & Friedman, 2013). In the U.S., more than one student in four takes at least one online course during his/her academic career, with public institutions being responsible for most of these courses (Allen & Seaman, 2016). In teacher education, there is evidence of great advancement of technology use in general and online education specifically (Davis & Loveless, 2011; Lacina, Mathews, & Nutt, 2011). Similar information is available for Israeli academia, although a difference is noted between universities and colleges, with the former taking on a larger portion of the online course load (Pundak, 2014). It is generally agreed upon that there is no significant difference in quality between faceto-face and online courses, popularly known as the “no significant difference phenomenon” (Russell, 1999); thus efforts are directed at examination of what makes good online teaching and learning, rather than the issue of should online courses be used at all (Ladyshewsky, 2013). It is generally agreed upon that online education enables academic institutions to economize, always a much needed measure (Friedman & Friedman, 2013; Hall & Knox, 2009). However, this is hardly the only, or even the main, advantage it offers. Most researchers and educators agree that technology has the potential to positively affect education (Lacina et al., 2011; Lisowski, Lisowski, & Nicolia, 2006). A majority of academic leaders polled by Allan and Seaman (2016) feel that online learning is critical to their institutions’ long-term strategies, and that learning outcomes in online education are the same or superior to those of face-to-face instruction. There is evidence that technology use increases student motivation (Friedman & Friedman, 2013; Lisowski et al., 2006), and assists in raising the institutions’ prestige as modern, innovative and promoting 21st century skills (Pundak, 2014). © koninklijke brill nv, leideN, 2018 | DOI 10.1163/9789004366077_004

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There is much discussion in the literature regarding the role of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in pre-service and in-service teacher education. The basic assumption is that ICT integration into K-12 educational institutions is a necessity in the 21st century (Edel-Malizia & Brautigam, 2014; Lacina et al., 2011; Lisowski et al., 2006; Orlando, 2014; Rawlins & Kehrwald, 2014; Yeung, Taylor, Hui, Lam-Chiang, & Low, 2012). Following this, there seems to be general agreement that in order to do this successfully, we need to educate teachers who are knowledgeable about technology, feel comfortable in this environment and are able to use it to their students’ advantage by generating positive ICT-based learning experiences (Hall & Knox, 2009; Lacina et al., 2011; Lee & Kim, 2014; Lisowski et al., 2006; Yeung et al., 2012). More specifically, Hall and Knox (2009) discuss English language teachers, whose students naturally use the language for daily communication via different ICT modes, thus the teachers need to be trained accordingly. However, there is also much discussion in the literature of the challenges both teachers and teacher educators face when attempting to integrate ICT into education. Online educational programs often do not meet students’ needs and do not offer clear advantages over face-to-face projects (Hadfield & Jopling, 2014). They are also notably difficult to assess (Hall & Knox, 2009). Unfortunately, use of ICT in teacher education often does not result in the teachers taking it into their K-12 classrooms (Lacina et al., 2011; Lisowski et al., 2006). Many teacher education programs offer general ICT training only, unrelated to subject matter, i.e. they do not guide pre-service teachers in teaching History/Literature/Science etc. through use of ICT, rather discussing general principles only (Lee & Kim, 2014). Despite the opportunity to use ICT in promoting equity, this is often ignored, in fact causing a widening of the infamous digital divide (Lisowski et al., 2006; Orlando, 2014). Many pre-service and in-service teachers perceive themselves as having poor technological skills, and their needs in this regard are not adequately met by teacher education programs, which often make do with general skill training only (Churchill & Wang, 2014; Liu, Zhang, & Wang, 2015; Murthy et al., 2015). ICT is perceived as affording educators the opportunity to promote studentcentered, constructivist teaching and learning, but in practice this is often ignored in favor of traditional practices (Hlapanis & Dimitrakopoulou, 2007; Murthy et al., 2015). Israeli society is made up of many groups differentiated by religion and/or ethnicity. Israeli Arabs make up approximately 20% of the population, thus forming a significant minority (Suan & Hanan, 2013). This minority is mostly Muslim, and typically traditional in its outlook, life style and social behaviours (Shapira & Hertz-Lazarowitz, 2011). Arab women in Israel suffer from a double exclusion – as Arabs in a state with a Jewish majority, and as women in a

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traditional society (Suan & Hanan, 2013). They are often marginalized both by their families and by society in general, and strongly discouraged from breaking the gender barrier which emphasizes their roles as wives and mothers, rather than professionals or people with careers, hopes and aspirations of their own (Shapira & Hertz-Lazarowitz, 2011). One way used by these women to break the glass ceiling is by getting an education, and following it a job and possibly even a career (Gilat, 2010). Their families and Israeli-Arab society often oppose this move, as academic studies usually necessitate the young women’s moving away from home (Abu-Rabia-Quider, 2006), and may lead them to develop aspirations beyond what is perceived to be their ‘place’ (Weiner-Levi, 2008). Most women who do enter academic institutions choose either nursing or teaching as a career, as they are considered ‘feminine’ in nature, thus more suitable for young women; and many times the men in the family insist the young women go into teaching instead of nursing, as this profession allows them to get home at a relatively early hour and look after the home and the children, and does not necessitate night work, as nursing does (Bader-Araf, 1995; Sela, 2013). Sela (2013) examined the narratives of 23 Arab female teachers studying towards a graduate degree in education, and found that ‘family vs. career’ was the most common theme present in the narratives. The teachers found it extremely difficult to manage both simultaneously, and related heartbreaking stories of dissent and strife both for the women themselves and between them and their families and society.

2

Research Context

Teacher education colleges in Israel offer both pre-service and in-service courses and degrees. In-service teacher education includes one-off courses (e.g. Alternative Assessment), studies towards a certificate (e.g. Teaching LD Students), and full academic programs (M.Ed.) in various areas (e.g. Educational Counselling). The M.Ed. programs aim at practicing teachers with B.A./B.Ed. degrees and Teaching Certificates who wish to develop professionally, upgrade their knowledge in both subject matter and pedagogy, and possibly open the door for themselves for a future PhD degree. The students1 continue to teach in K-12 environments, while simultaneously spending one day a week at the college, studying towards the graduate degree. The program discussed in this chapter is a two-year Language Teaching Program offered to teachers of Hebrew, Arabic or English as an additional language in a Teacher Education college in northern Israel. The program includes a full day of on-campus courses, with an online course and several concentrated summer courses making up the required hours for an M.Ed. degree in Language Teaching.

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The decision to add an on-line course to the program2 was made on the basis of necessity – the students were promised one day of studying only so they can keep their full time jobs in school, but this did not provide them with sufficient hours for the requirements of an M.Ed. degree, thus the need to add an online course. However, there were other considerations at play as well. The use of educational technology to allow students to study anytime anywhere (Kesim & Agaoglu, 2007), in keeping with 21st century innovative teachinglearning practices (Edel-Malizia & Brautigam, 2014; Pundak, 2014), was also an issue, as was the wish for this course to serve as a model which the students could then possibly use in their own K-12 teaching (Hall & Knox, 2009; Lacina et al., 2011; Lisowski et al., 2006). On the other hand, there were strong considerations against including an online course in the program. The students in the program (21 in number) were mostly women (19), ranging in age from early 30s to mid-40s, all married with young children at home. Most (17) were Israeli-Arabs, living in a traditional society which places a strong emphasis on the place of the woman as a wife, mother and home-maker (Aburabia-Quider & Wiener-Levi, 2010). As teachers, they use much of their evenings and weekends for preparing lessons, marking, and other school-related tasks. Having jobs and careers at the same time as working towards a graduate degree was ground-breaking for these women, and using their time at home for studying rather than taking care of their families may have been simply too much to ask of them. In addition, their age group meant that they were not ‘digital natives’ (Prensky, 2001), and asking them to function online independently was possibly unreasonable. A decision was taken to run the online course, with student feedback collected at the end through use of a feedback questionnaire. The aim of the questionnaire was to provide both course instructor and college administration with data which would help them in deciding whether or not to continue the course, and if so, how to improve it, making it more suitable to students’ needs. The aim of the entire project was to provide both students and instructor with a voice in their own teaching-learning process, not relinquishing the decisionmaking to the administration only, as is often the practice in academia (Orlando, 2014).

3

The Course

The two-semester course dealt with the topic of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Curriculum and Materials, covering the theory and practice of the topic as seen from the perspective of EFL teachers in Israel, including both local and international contexts. Each semester was divided into three

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modules, each module concentrating on a different sub-topic, with all six modules following each other logically. Each semester began and ended with a face-to-face lesson, and all other work was done completely online. Each module consisted of a PowerPoint presentation with a voiceover prepared by the instructor, a text to be read and/or watched on the topic, an additional text or a synchronous lesson, an individual short assignment, and commenting on peers’ assignments. Each semester was concluded with an on-campus exam covering the material studied during the semester. The course was planned in such a way so as to cater as much as possible to the needs of the specific population – older women with families, mostly from a traditional society, teaching English as an additional language in K-12 classes. Several steps were taken by the instructor when planning the course with this in mind: (a) The course was carefully structured so as not to expect more time on average from the students each week than they would have given to a face-toface course. That is, a face-to-face course has one weekly 90 minute meeting, and the students are generally expected to use a further 30 minutes weekly at home reading, preparing for class or doing short ongoing assignments. Accordingly, each semester of the online course was planned in such a way so as to necessitate on average approximately two hours of the students’ time each week, no more. This was not easy, as online courses tend to be more demanding of students’ time than face-to-face ones (Comer, Lenaghan, & Sengupta, 2015), but this guideline was nevertheless followed carefully. (b) All the necessary materials were uploaded to the course site, making it completely self-sufficient, so that students would not have to make an effort searching for materials or assistance on- or off-line. This included written texts, audio and video texts, full instructions for all assignments, a place on the site to hand in assignments and receive assessment and feedback, and a place on the site where the instructor and/or classmates could be contacted for assistance or clarifications. (c) Most of the course was asynchronous, allowing the students maximum freedom in utilizing the ‘anytime anywhere’ principle (Kesim & Agaoglu, 2007), in an effort to assist them in integrating the work load into their busy and complicated schedules, as explained above. The only exceptions to this were four face-to-face lessons (out of 28) – one at the beginning and one at the end of each semester; as well as two online synchronous lessons (one each semester), allowing the students the ‘anywhere’ but not the ‘anytime’ principle. (d) Much thought was given to guiding the students in how to learn online in the best way possible, taking into account that for most of them this was a first time experience. The first lesson of the course, a face-to-face meeting, was used to carefully explain the course structure and demands, as well as have a detailed discussion of online learning, its advantages and pitfalls, and strategies which could be utilized to maximize its effectiveness and integration into the students’ lives and schedules. This

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included a short video giving good advice on the topic, a personal discussion of how they can interweave the course demands into their specific schedules, dealing with opposition from spouses and society in general, and tips from the instructor who has extensive experience in taking online courses. Finally, (e) the course instructor made sure to be available as much as possible to the students, including evenings, weekends and vacations, via emails and phone calls, in order to provide them with a ‘safety net’ of advice and support, making sure they do not feel lost in this ‘brave new world’ of online learning, which can be perceived as strange, isolating, alienating and frightening (Hall & Knox, 2009).

4

The Study

The research participants were all the students in the program described above. These were 21 in number, 19 of which were women, ranging in age from early 30s to mid-40s (average age 36), all married with young children at home. Most (17) were Israeli-Arabs, and the others Israeli-Jewish. All participants were EFL teachers in the Israeli K-12 school system, 20 of them in high school and one in elementary school. Their teaching experience ranged between 4–23 years, with an average of eight years. At the end of the course, the students were asked to fill in the regular college feedback questionnaire for online courses, which included 16 closed questions to be answered using a five-point Likert scale (from 1-‘strongly disagree’ to 5-‘strongly agree’), with an added possibility of selecting ‘irrelevant’, and two open questions (see Appendix A). The questionnaire was the one used by the college Research Authority for student feedback, and had been professionally developed and validated for this purpose. The questionnaire was sent to the students via email by the college administration, with a strongly worded request to fill it in. However, this was not compulsory and the students were given a firm promise that it would not affect their course assessment. To this end, the results were collected prior to the second semester exam but published following the publication of the course grades later in the summer, thus ensuring that neither students not instructor would be influenced by them. It is important to emphasize that the feedback was collected by the college administration, not by the lecturer/researcher, who had no access to it until the course grades had been decided on and published, thus minimizing any ethical issues involved. The response rate was 61.9%, which is considerably higher than the response rates of 29%–59% to student online feedback questionnaires reported worldwide (Donitza-Schmidt, Ackerman-Asher, & Libman, 2011; Donovan, Mader, & Shinsky, 2010). The quantitative information was summarized via descriptive statistics (averages and standard deviations), and the answers

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to the open questions were examined as to relevant content (there were not enough of these to employ traditional qualitative analysis techniques).

5

Findings

5.1 Quantitative Data The quantitative data collected are presented in Table 4.1. ‘Total course evaluation’ was calculated as an average of the 14 statements making up this construct; ‘Total instructor evaluation’ was calculated as an average of the two statements making up this construct; and ‘Total evaluation’ was calculated as an average of the two totals. The data show that the students were particularly satisfied with the clear and organized way the course was presented, agreed that it suits the online learning paradigm, appreciated the variety of materials included in the course and perceived them as promoting learning, and agreed that the course site table 4.1  Course and instructor evaluation

Question

Average (SD)

Course demands are clear. Course assignments suit course content. Course contributes to my knowledge construction in this domain. Course encourages independent thought. Course content is presented clearly and in an organized fashion. Participation in online forum promotes the learning process. Learning materials on the site promote the learning process. Course suits online learning. Course helped me develop as an independent learner. Course includes varied texts promoting the learning process. I am willing to take another online course. Course includes varied materials promoting the learning process. Online assignments promote the learning process. Course site promotes the learning process. Total course evaluation Instructor manages course well. Instructor deals with learning difffijiculties in a businesslike manner. Total instructor evaluation Total evaluation

4.21 (0.89) 4.14 (1.23) 4.21 (1.19) 4.21 (1.19) 4.36 (0.63) 3.43 (1.65) 4.29 (1.07) 4.36 (0.74) 4.00 (1.30) 3.79 (1.31) 3.93 (1.27) 4.36 (0.63) 3.85 (1.28) 4.29 (1.07) 4.10 4.29 (1.14) 4.43 (0.76) 4.36 4.23

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served the purpose of promoting the learning process. They were less pleased with the course assignments, including participation in the forum, and did not appreciate the variety of texts (as different from materials) included in the course. When asked if they would be willing to take another online course based on their experience with this one, the average answer was 3.93 on a scale of 1 to 5, with quite a wide distribution of answers (SD 1.27). 5.2 Qualitative Data The qualitative part of the questionnaire included two open-ended questions, asking the students to relate to the positive points and the negative points of the course (see Appendix A). The main advantages the students related to centered on the usefulness of the course content for practicing teachers, and on the fact that the course itself, as mirrored through the site, was extremely clear and organized, and thus userfriendly even to people who were not very tech-savvy. “The course assignments were very clear, which made it easier to overcome the not insignificant workload”. “I learned a lot of useful things which I immediately implemented in my teaching”. The main challenges referred to in the answers to the open questions related to the need to spend much ‘free’ time on academic work, seen as unwillingly bringing academia into the home. “Even in weeks when there was only little to do, it still came at the expense of my children”. “The synchronous lessons were in the evenings. I think it isn’t fair that I need to do this in the evening instead of putting my children to bed”. The data show that the students believe in online teaching-learning in principle, but have trouble implementing it in practice. That is, they welcomed the idea of an online course, and liked this specific course, but often found it very difficult to find time at home to devote to it, particularly the sections where they needed to demonstrate participation (assignments and forum participation) as opposed to the sections where they were expected to read or watch with no demonstrable action expected of them. As one student wrote: “It’s really frustrating, because I understand why online learning is the ‘in’ thing today, but I still found it very difficult”.

6

Discussion and Recommendations

This evidence of the course’s pros and cons from both the students’ and the college’s perspectives raises the question of whether or not such a course should be included in an M.Ed. program for mature, professional students, particularly women with families living in a traditional society. This issue is not relevant to Israel alone, but to all similar societies worldwide, and the academic institutions serving these populations. Should we use online teaching-learning

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in order to make further education accessible to women from traditional societies who may not be able to take academic courses otherwise, or should we avoid these, in an effort to accommodate their needs as women who are already overloaded with tasks at home and in the workplace? Further complicating the issue is the literature which clearly states that “Today’s new generation of tech-savvy students deserves teachers who can competently integrate technology into all content areas” (Lacina et al., 2011, p. 149), as well as emphasizing the crucial role technology serves in our need for life-long learning (Yeung et al., 2012). The decision to be made is not easy or clear-cut. Further complicating matters is the issue of language teaching. The M.Ed. program under discussion is a language teaching program, specifically the teaching of English as an additional language, a subject that has long been acknowledged as crucial in today’s ‘global village’, where English is used as a lingua franca (Hall & Knox, 2009). Bringing together these two ‘must have’ subjects – ICT and language teaching, can only bring us to one conclusion – English teachers in the K-12 context must be technology-friendly, and able to use it to teach English in an effective and efficient manner (Hall & Knox, 2009). As Hall and Knox so succinctly put it: For all parties, the rapid changes associated with the rise of language teacher education also present us with a responsibility. As traditional roles and practices evolve in interaction with the demands and affordances of their new institutional environments, shortcomings and inequalities in current and emerging practices, and in the distribution of power and knowledge in the language education community are open to challenge and renegotiation. The changes in language teacher education challenge educators, administrators, and researchers to include people and perspectives once excluded, and to embrace people and perspectives once distanced. It is an opportunity not to be missed. (p. 78) Surely “people and perspectives once excluded” and “people and perspectives once distanced” may include language teachers who are older women from traditional societies, bearing the burden of their double roles as professionals as well as wives and mothers (Sela, 2013), and who need our help in not only surviving but, indeed, flourishing in the 21st century (Bader-Araf, 1995)?! Thus, it seems that the appropriate question under discussion is not ‘should we use online courses with such a population of in-service teachers?’, but ‘how should we do this in the best manner possible, so as to accommodate their needs both as professionals and as individuals with private lives?’ This is supported by the literature that clearly states that we have now, in the second decade of the 21st century, moved from asking ourselves ‘should we or should we not use ICT in education?” to asking ‘how should be do so in the best

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manner possible?’ (Allan & Seaman, 2016; Davis & Loveless, 2011; Pundak, 2014; Yeung et al., 2012). This shift in thinking is also supported by the data collected in the present study, demonstrating that while the students showed an overall positive approach to the online course, they still struggled with its practical applications, such as course assignments and time constraints. It seems that what they might be looking for, even if unable to put this into words, is not permission not to take online courses, but rather online courses that cater to their needs (Suan & Hanan, 2013). To this end, the next section of this discussion offers insights based on both the literature and the data collected in the study aimed at designing online courses that may meet the needs of teachers who belong to the abovementioned population group – wives and mothers in a traditional society. For, as Hadfield and Jopling (2014) show, in order for an ICT project to succeed it must meet participants’ needs and offer considerable advantages over F2F learning, and this group of students has clearly defined needs, often different from those of their Jewish counterparts (Shapira & Hertz-Lazarowitz, 2011). The insights and recommendations below refer to different aspects of course planning and implementation. a. Initial planning – When planning the course – content, assignments, due dates and similar issues, the instructor must always keep in mind the target population and plan accordingly. This means taking into consideration time and travel constraints, which can easily be catered to, as explained in detail above, by making the course (through the site) self-sufficient and mindful of the students’ inability to devote too much time to it. This may be seen by some academic instructors as ‘lowering the level’ or ‘giving in to students’ demands’. However, if we remember that the goal of the course is to inform and educate this particular student population, surely it is better to do so in a manner which will ensure that they do actually learn, than to follow the norms we were taught as students, possibly causing them to fail, partially or completely?! Perhaps it is time we acknowledged that times are changing, and we need to change with them. This needs not be seen as a capitulation to students’ ‘unreasonable’ demands, but rather as our own learning and developing according to the teaching-learning context. b. Course organization – The questionnaire items related to the course’s organization, clarity of assignments, the course site and the course’s presentation as an online course were all rated as high to very high by the students. This was also supported by the answers to the open questions. Thus, it seems that the instructor’s effort to make both the course itself and the way it was reflected on the course site as user-friendly as possible (see detailed discussion above) was appreciated, and should be taken as a guideline to be followed. We cannot overemphasize the need for this as saving time and

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effort, and as a result avoiding student frustration. Students who get ‘lost’ on the site, and do not follow course requirements simply because they were unaware of them or of the due dates for handing them in, will not do well through no fault of their own. The need for clear organization is important in any academic course, but much more so in an online one. Despite the fact that online communication is possible, it is in many respects much less convenient than face-to-face communication, particularly for ‘digital immigrants’, thus the possibility of ambiguity should be eliminated altogether, or at the very least minimized. c. Teaching context – The instructor needs to acknowledge the students’ special needs in relation to their private lives (Shapira & Hertz-Lazarowitz, 2011), rather than ignoring them and hoping for the best, as many instructors tend to do. This can be done in many ways, as explained above. One particularly effective way is initiating an open discussion of the challenges of being a teacher, a wife and a mother of young children, all at the same time. Understanding, empathy and advice can all be offered by both instructor and peers, and may prove to be invaluable to the floundering student. Evidence of this can be found in some of the students’ answers to the open questions on the questionnaire, for example “Just knowing that my friends also have arguments with their husbands about their studies helped me a lot, just knowing that I wasn’t alone”. Another way of dealing with the issue is suggesting practical coping strategies based on both instructor’s and students’ experiences as online learners, as well as additional ideas that can easily be found in the literature or online (such as the YouTube short film used in this course). d. Modelling – One of the strongest arguments in the literature advocating the use of ICT in teacher education relates to our need to educate teachers (both pre-service and in-service) in using technology, so that they can then take this practice with them to their K-12 classrooms (Lisowski et al., 2006; Yeung et al., 2012). This may intuitively seem obvious, but research shows that such is not the case (Lacina et al., 2011; Lisowski et al., 2006). When teachers have positive experiences as students in using ICT, they are more likely to try this out themselves as teachers (Yeung et al., 2012). Clearly, we need to think and plan carefully how to integrate this into pre-service and in-service teacher education. The acceptable model for educating teachers in ICT use is the TPACK model – Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (Koehler & Mishra, 2005). This is based on Lee Shulman’s famous articles (1986, 1987) in which he coined the phrase ‘pedagogical content knowledge’, which has since become no less than a cornerstone of pedagogical discourse. Koehler and Mishra took this construct and enlarged it by adding the technological perspective. A thorough discussion of this is beyond the scope of the present chapter, but briefly speaking, it “…emphasizes the complex relationships

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between content, pedagogy and technology knowledge…” (Koehler & Mishra, 2005, p. 57). Lee and Kim (2014) discuss this model and its relevance to teacher education, stating that “teacher training programs should provide teachers with the opportunity to develop integrated knowledge of the subject matter, technology, and pedagogy” (p. 438). The course in question does not state this as one of it goals, using technology as a means rather than an end. However, it is important to remember that no teacher education course using technology should ignore the modelling aspect – what the learners are experiencing as students can and should be used in their role as teachers in K-12 classrooms (Lisowski et al., 2006). Unfortunately, this transfer does not happen on its own, and must be carefully planned and executed by the course instructor. Regardless of the content of the course, this aspect of modelling should be overtly discussed with the students. This has the potential not only to assist them in making this transfer of knowledge from student to teacher, but also in raising their motivation in taking the course, as it will now be viewed as helping them as teachers regarding both course content and its medium of instruction. When asked to assess their own TPACK competence, practicing teachers perceived themselves as having good pedagogical and content knowledge, but weak technological knowledge (Liu et al., 2015). Thus, extra attention paid to this aspect should be very welcome. The program in question does indeed have a course devoted to use of ICT in English teaching, but like many of its kind (Murthy et al., 2015; Yeung et al., 2012) teaches the relevant skills, but does not go beyond. In other words, it teaches about use of ICT in education rather than actually doing it. Using a course like the one discussed here to also deal with these matters can potentially be effective. Thus, the instructor should find a place to insert this into the course, creating discourse regarding the modelling aspects it offers, beyond the subject matter taught. e. Social-constructivist learning – There is much literature discussing the positive aspects of social constructivist learning (Vygotsky, 1962), including the aspects of cooperative and collaborative learning of different types, as well as the considerable contributions of communities of learning (Wenger, 1998) to educational practice. There is also a growing body of evidence that this is true for online teaching and learning as well (Hlapanis & Dimitrakopoulou, 2007). However, the same studies often show that while this is true in theory, it does not always happen in practice in the K-12 or academic environments (Murthy et al., 2015). When online courses are constructed so as to address the student as an individual only, students often feel isolated and lonely, and (perhaps not surprisingly), so do their instructors (Hall & Knox, 2009). Student feedback shows that collaborating with peers in the framework of online learning improves the students’ learning experiences and raises motivation (Lisowski

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et al., 2006). This issue was not sufficiently addressed in the course discussed in this chapter, perhaps causing some of the students’ dissatisfaction. A hint of this can be found in one of the answers to the open questions: “Even though we were always able to ask the teacher questions, it was still difficult to sit at home in front of my computer and not know what to do”. There are many examples described in the professional and academic literature of cooperative online activities (Hlapanis & Dimitrakopoulou, 2007; Lisowski et al., 2006; Murthy et al., 2015), and it is highly recommended that this aspect of online teachinglearning be incorporated into all online teacher education courses. f. Practical alternatives – In addition to all the above, there are some practical easy-to-adopt alternative options for the instructor wishing to meet the needs of the students belonging to this population group – older women who are both teachers and mothers of young children. One option, which was adopted in the case described in this chapter, was to turn the two-semester course into a onesemester course, thus allowing the students to experience online learning, but halving their ‘extra’ workload at home. In this case the necessary hours were made up by an additional concentrated summer course (which caused its own problems by necessitating the students to hire babysitters to look after their children who were at home during their own summer vacation). It remains to be seen whether or not this provided a viable solution. Another option might be to turn the course into a blended learning course rather than a fully online one. There is some evidence that blended learning courses provide better student results than either fully face-to-face or fully online courses (Friedman & Friedman, 2013), so this is certainly worth a try. Again, like the former option, this would provide the students with an online learning experience, while minimizing their at-home study time. Finally, it is appropriate to briefly discuss the transnational aspect of the issue. As mentioned above, teaching with technology is inherently a transnational activity. Technological tools are available to all potential users worldwide, provided they have access to the necessary hardware and software. However, the differences among potential learner populations must be taken into account when designing such courses. The population described in this chapter had specific needs based on its specific characteristics (female learners who are teachers, wives and mothers in a traditional society), which the course and study described here have tried to address. Other similar populations may benefit from the conclusions of the present study and the suggestions made above; and just as importantly, the idea that technology-integrated courses of study must be planned with the target population in mind is a crucial concept, somewhat minimizing the generalizability of international research results, focusing on more specific insights to be garnered from case studies such as the one described in this chapter.

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Conclusions, Research Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research

The present chapter presented a dilemma regarding the online learning course design options of an instructor in an in-service language teaching M.Ed. program. On the one hand, the literature clearly shows the many advantages of online learning, with particular emphasis on teacher education and more specifically language teacher education, but on the other the students in question (practicing teachers) were mostly women with families and young children to look after belonging to a traditional community which often did not look favorably upon their use of ‘home’ time to study, as an online course naturally demands. The course described attempted to address these issues, albeit with only partial success, as feedback collected at its end demonstrates. The chapter then goes on to make several suggestions as to how this issue can be dealt with. The chapter does not describe a traditional academic study, but rather the thought processes and reflections of a teacher educator, drawing on the evidence available to her as well as the relevant literature in an attempt to improve her own practice. It is the instructor’s hope that other people in this position, i.e. having to design online courses for a similar target audience, will find this chapter both interesting and useful. The topic certainly deserves more intensive research, both qualitative and quantitative in nature, examining it from different points of view. Both instructors and students can be questioned regarding their perceptions of the situation, in an attempt to come up with new, innovative solutions to the dilemma, which is a real and not uncommon one.

References Aburabia-Quider, S. (2006). Gender in Bedouin education: Post-modern discrimination. In S. Hasson (Ed.), Arabs in Israel: Barriers of equality (pp. 195–203). Jerusalem: The Floresheimer Institute of Policy Study. (In Hebrew) Aburabia-Quider, S., & Wiener-Levi, N. (2010). The Palestinian, Israeli and self-space: A renewed look at the coping arenas of Palestinian women in Israel. Hamishpat, 16, 375–398. (In Hebrew) Allan, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2016). 2015 online report card: Tracking online education in the United States. Retrieved from http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/onlinereport-card-tracking-online-education-united-states-2015/ Bader-Araf, K. (1995). The Arab woman in Israel towards the 21st century. Hamizrach Hechadash, 37, 213–218. (In Hebrew)

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Churchill, D., & Wang, T. (2014). Teacher’s use of iPads in higher education. Educational Media International, 51(3), 214–225. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ 09523987.2014.968444 Comer, D. R., Lenaghan, J. A., & Sengupta, K. (2015). Factors that affect student capacity to fulfill the role of online learner. Journal of Education for Business, 90(3), 145–155. Davis, N., & Loveless, A. (2011). Reviewing the landscape of ICT and teacher education over 20 years and looking forward to the future. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 20(3), 247–261. Donitza-Schmidt, S., Ackerman-Asher, H., & Libman, T. (2011). Find the differences: Traditional vs. online students’ evaluations of teaching. Hora’a Ba’akademia, 1, 43–48. (in Hebrew) Donovan, J., Mader, C. E., & Shinsky, J. (2010). Constructive student feedback: Online vs. traditional course evaluations. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 9(3), 283–296. Edel-Malizia, S., & Brautigam, K. (2014). Gauging the quality of online learning by measuring 21st century engagement. In Proceedings of the European conference on e-learning (pp. 700–703). Copenhagen: Aalborg University. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.mgs.oranim.ac.il/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? vid=11&sid=8e515b12-853a-4efa-a2dc-88d0f430d922%40sessionmgr4009&hid=4209 Friedman, L. W., & Friedman, H. H. (2013). Using social media technologies to enhance online learning. Journal of Educators Online, 10(1), 1–21. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1004891.pdf Gilat, A. (2010). Women experience empowerment through higher education: The story of Jewish and Arab, religious and secular, female students. Iyun Vemechkar Behachsharat Morim, 12, 135–165. (In Hebrew) Hadfield, M., & Jopling, M. (2014). The development of an implementation model for ICT in education: An example of the interaction of affordances and multimodality. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 51(6), 607–617. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2014.924747 Hall, D., & Knox, J. (2009). Issues in the education of TESOL teachers by distance education. Distance Education, 30(1), 63–85. Hlapanis, G., & Dimitrakopoulou, A. (2007). A course model implemented in a teacher’s learning community context: Issues of course assessment. Behaviour & Information Technology, 26(6), 561–578. Johnson, L., Adams, S., & Haywood, K. (2011). The NMC horizon report: 2011 K-12 edition. Austin, TX: The New Media Consortium. Kesim, E., & Agaoglu, E. (2007). A paradigm shift in distance education: Web 2.0 and social software. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 8(3), 66–75. Retrieved April 22, 2009, from http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde27/articles/article_4.htm Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2005). What happens when teachers design educational technology? The development of technological pedagogical content knowledge. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 32(2), 131–152.

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Lacina, J., Mathews, S., & Nutt, L. (2011). Technology integration: Graduates’ use of technology in their K-8 classrooms. Social Studies Research & Practice, 6(1), 149–166. Ladyshewsky, R. K. (2013). Instructor presence in online courses and student satisfaction. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 7(1), 1–23. Lee, C., & Kim, C. (2014). An implementation study of a TPACK-based instructional design model in a technology integration course. Educational Technology Research and Development, 62(4), 437–460. Lisowski, L. R., Lisowski, J. A., & Nicolia, S. (2006). Infusing technology into teacher education: Doing more with less. Computers in the Schools, 23(3–4), 71–92. Liu, Q., Zhang, S., & Wang, Q. (2015). Surveying Chinese in-service K-12 teachers’ technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 53(1), 55–74. Murthy, S., Iyer, S., & Warriem, J. (2015). ET4ET: A large-scale faculty professional development program on effective integration of educational technology. Educational Technology & Society, 18(3), 16–28. Orlando, L. (2014). Educational technology: A presupposition of equality? Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 42(4), 347–362. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ 1359866X.2014.956049 Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants, part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–6. Pundak, D. (2014). The terror of moving to online courses in an engineering college (pp. 158–149). Conference Proceedings, the Chase Conference of Learning Technologies, the Open University, Milton Keynes. Retrieved from http://www.openu.ac.il/innovation/ chais2014/download/B1-2.pdf (In Hebrew) Rawlins, P., & Kehrwald, B. (2014). Integrating educational technologies into teacher education: A case study. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 51(2), 207–217. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2013.770266 Russell, T. L. (1999). The no significant difference phenomenon: A comparative research annotated bibliography on technology for distance education. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University. Sela, O. (2013). “As if I am a marginal actress in this drama”: Gender issues is the stories of female Arab teachers (A Research Report). Northern Israel: Oranim Academic College of Education. (In Hebrew) Shapira, T., & Hertz-Lazarowitz, R. (2011). Self-efficacy, cultural perception and women’s empowerment: Gender-related and social meanings among male and female teachers in Arab society. Iyunim Beminhal Uve’irgun Hachinuch, 32, 185–215. (In Hebrew) Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(1), 4–16.

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Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1–22. Suan, D., & Hanan, S. (2013). To support or not to support? The positions of Muslim men towards Muslim women’s studies in Israeli academia. Hachinuch Usvivo, 35, 257–278. (In Hebrew) Vygotsky, L. S. (1962). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Weiner-Levi, N. (2008). The actions of the first female Druze teachers to promote education and change their female students’ gender roles. Dapim, 46, 215–237. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Yeung, A. S., Taylor, P. G., Hui, C., Lam-Chiang, A. C., & Low, E.-L. (2012). Mandatory use of technology in teaching: Who cares and so what? British Journal of Educational Technology, 43(6), 859–870.

Orly Sela Oranim Academic College of Education, Israel

Appendix A – Student Feedback Questionnaire Online Courses Student Feedback Questionnaire Dear Student, Below is the college feedback questionnaire for the online course. Please circle the correct answer for each of the questions in Part A, and answer the questions in Part B as fully as possible. Your participation in this survey is highly appreciated, and will allow college administration to continue in its untiring effort to improve studies at the college. Course name: ____________________________________ Instructor name: __________________________________

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Learning materials on the site promote the learning process. 8 Course suits online learning. 9 Course helped me develop as an independent learner. 10 Course includes varied texts promoting the learning process. 11 I am willing to take another online course. 12 Course includes varied materials promoting the learning process.

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Part B 1. What were the advantages of this course? What did you like about it? What did you learn from it? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 2. Can you offer any suggestions for change/improvement? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

chapter 5

The FOBI-P4 Innovative Approach for Kindergarten Dual Language Learners in the China, Canada, United States English Immersion (CCUEI) Research Collaborative A Case Study Mary Barbara Trube and Rong Yan

1

Introduction

China’s education reform and national strategic plan for development includes strengthening English Language Teaching (ELT) throughout the country (Qiang & Seigel, 2012). For example, since 2001 beginning in grade three, students take English as a core academic subject based on English Curriculum Standards for the Public School System (Cheng, 2011). In responding to the call for early education reforms in China, the Canadian-French immersion model was introduced beginning at the kindergarten level as early as 1997 (Qiang, Huang, Siegel, & Trube, 2011). Scholars from more than ten universities in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) worked with academics from Canada and the United States of America (USA) to design and put into practice regularly scheduled professional development, observation and feedback forms, and classroom materials and resources (Trube, 2012). Additionally, English Immersion (EI) projects were promoted and sustained by hosting conferences, collaborating on scholarship, promoting internal exchanges, and mentoring through the China, Canada, United States, English Immersion (CCUEI) Research Collaborative (Trube, Kang, & Qiang, 2014). Immersion teaching in China is a departure from traditional English teaching via rote learning strategies with drills and recitations dependent on Chinese to facilitate instruction (Qiang & Siegel, 2006). In the EI classroom, children’s linguistic development is respected and children “are allowed to have a silent period as their receptive language increases” and “they are not expected to have new language output until they have had a high frequency of language input provided for them through a variety of engaging activities pertinent to the language elements in question” (Qiang & Siegel, 2006, p. 10). Under CCUEI, immersion teaching at the Kindergarten level focuses on improving receptive © koninklijke brill nv, leideN, 2018 | DOI 10.1163/9789004366077_005

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language through listening and engaging activities encouraging children’s speaking, chanting, and singing in the target language. The curriculum uses a variety of multimedia-supported resources that enhance children’s English listening sensitivities. Emphasis is placed on language children use in their daily lives, and English language teaching is designed to be meaningful in local contexts (Huang, Trube, & Yu, 2011). The theoretical foundations of CCUEI are based on cognitive learning theories of Piaget and Bruner and the social-linguistic theories of Vygotsky, as follows (Siegel, 2011, p. 1): – Young children learn languages easily and with pleasure; they do not experience the inhibitions and embarrassment of older children or adults. – Language should be learned in an interactive way; communication is important. – The teaching of subject areas should be integrative. – Language learning should be about everyday life. – Children should enjoy the experience. This chapter explores the FOBI-P4 project initiative as part of CCUEI at three Kindergartens located in Beijing, PRC, under the leadership of the CCUEI project leader in Beijing, Dr. Rong Yan of Beijing International Studies University (BISU) and the CLAPE Center at Jiao Tong University in Xian. The chapter reports on a case study designed to discover interestness of learning environments, materials, and tasks; relatedness of the project to the contextual factors at the local level of engagement and enactment; relevanceness of the curriculum to the local context; transnationalness of the program’s global aspects to promote concepts of global citizenship in young children and optimal delivery of English immersion (EI) in dual language (DL) programs; and innovativeness of the project as a result of philosophical and pragmatic shifts. FOBI-P4 curriculum developers were further influenced by evidence from neuroscience about how the brain learns (Révai & Guerriero, 2017).

2

Statement of the Problem

Different from other Kindergarten level English-language immersion approaches in China for Chinese first language (L1) dual language learners (DLL) with English as the second language (L2), FOBI-P4 English immersion (EI) uses an additive approach, emphasizing the following: (1) integrating the interests of parents and children into the curriculum; (2) personalizing the

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environment and curriculum to reflect developmental levels of children, the cultural contexts, and the emergence of the notion of global citizenship while supporting children’s motherland identities; (3) and giving special attention to the use of English language picture book stories with dialogic reading strategies and project-based learning activities and strategies supporting a consistent English language model by teachers and caregivers. There is a need to collect systematic evidence that documents implementation of the approaches listed previously. Further, there is a need to identify if and how environments and teaching plans are designed and prepared to promote philosophical wondering, personalizing, picture book reading, and project-based teaching and learning.

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Purpose of the Study

This qualitative study investigated implementation and sustainability of the FOBI-P4 project in Beijing Kindergarten programs. Investigators sought to (1) discover diverse English Immersion (EI) teachers’ levels of competence related to planning, teaching, and assessing classroom practices; (2) gather diverse EI teachers’ perceptions of their roles and levels of competence in fulfilling the roles; (3) identify principals’ perceptions of the FOBI-P4 project in areas of interestness, relatedness, relevanceness, transnationalness, and innovativeness; and (4) learn teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of individual programs’ specific needs related to successful implementation and sustainability of FOBI-P4.

4

Research Questions

Four questions guided the investigation: – What are FOBI-P4 EI teachers’ levels of competence related to planning, teaching, and assessing classroom practices as indicated on the English Immersion—Teacher Evaluation and Feedback Form— Revised 4 (EI-TEFF-R4)? – What are EI teachers perceptions of their abilities to implement the FOBI-P4 project at their respective Kindergartens? – How does the FOBI-P4 project address areas of interestness, relatedness, relevanceness, transnationalness, and innovativeness? – How can the FOBI-P4 program better support teachers’ and principals’ needs for the successful implementation and sustainability of FOBI-P4?

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Significance of the Study

The study’s findings reveal the perceived strengths and challenges of the FOBI-P4 project to date and the impact of the paradigm shift to address the realities of the needs of future global citizens now attending Kindergartens in China. The study serves to inform the CCUEI Research Collaborative membership about the FOBI-P4 project for Kindergarten DL programs in Chinese Kindergartens, and provide concrete data for decision-making about bringing the initiative currently in Beijing to Kindergartens in other cities in the PRC where CCUEI is active. The study serves to inform the academic community about the relevance of philosophical wondering, personalizing curriculum and environments, picture book reading, and project-based learning in the FOBI-P4 model.

6

Definition of Key Terms

Development. Development in L2 acquisition refers to “the process of gaining greater voluntary control over one’s capacity to think and act either by becoming more proficient in the use of mediated resources, or through a lessening or severed reliance on external mediational means” (Thorne & Tasker, 2011, cited in Lantolf, Thorne, & Poehner, 2015, p. 209). English as a transnational language. English is a transnational language that extends beyond native speakers and includes those who have acquired English as a result of British or North American colonialism or as a result of the postCold War expansion of English as the language of transnational trade, politics, communication, education, culture, and labor (Han & Singh, 2007). Interestness. Interestness of teaching and learning activities, tasks, talk, materials, and environments is a result of the teacher’s and/or environment’s abilities to arouse curiosity and hold the attention of children (Tomasello, 1995, 2014). Kindergarten. In China, Kindergarten typically refers to full-day programs that serve children aged three to six years or entry into primary school (Zhu, 2015). Kindergarten programs in China successfully serve the twofold purposes of education and child care (Freeman, 1998). Kindergarten programs are licensed by the municipal government for private individuals, corporations, neighborhood communities, and work groups such as in universities and factories. In 1981, government regulations recommended three different groupings of children, e. g. such as the junior level for 3-year olds, the middle level for 4-year olds, and seniors for 5 to 6-year olds (Vaughan, 1993).

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Currently, there is a movement to integrate birth-to-age 6 care and education in Kindergartens, “providing continuous care and education for children from birth to age 6” (Zhu, 2015, p. 58). Lingua franca. A lingua franca is a common language spoken by individuals with a different native language. “English has become the lingua franca of the whole world” (Mukerji & Tripathi, 2013, p. 434) and is described as having global pervasiveness. Relatedness. Relatedness pertains to the quality of teacher/adult – student/ child relationships, feelings of acceptance, belonging and inclusion in the learning environment (Furrer & Skinner, 2003). Innovativeness. Innovativeness reflects and features new methods and approaches that advance the original context. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2014) identify classroom-level and schoollevel innovations in the following aspects: teaching style, instructional practice, class organization, use of textbooks, methods of assessment, availability of computers and the Internet, extent of teacher collaboration, feedback mechanisms, evaluation and hiring of teachers, and schools’ external relations. Joint attention. Joint attention, joint collaboration, and co-construction of learning provide many opportunities for children to be involved in talk and tasks. Establishing joint attention increases “feelings of relatedness and agency and advance language” (Carlton & Winsler, 1998, p. 165). Philosophical wondering. Philosophical wondering was introduced in the works of Socrates and Aristotle, suggesting the love of wisdom and better understandings of ourselves and our world; the pursuit of inquiry begins in wonder (Lear, 2013). Prior knowledge. Knowledge of familiar objects and tasks, and opportunities to learn during in-school and out-of-school contexts based on children’s interests provide the basis for children coming to school ready to learn. Opportunities for children to use their prior knowledge make them feel capable, competent, and valued. Project-based teaching and learning. Project-based strategies follow the wisdom of the Chinese proverb Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand. Project-based strategies in FOBI-P4 follow inspiration from Chard of Canada, Helm of the USA, Katz of the United Kingdom, and the Infant and Toddler programs in Reggio Emilia, Italy (Abramson, Robinson, & Ankenman, 1995). Relational zone. Goldstein (1999) coined the term relational zone to highlight the importance of teachers’ and caregivers’ interpersonal caring to children’s participation, engagement, and learning in the zone of proximal development (ZPD).

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Relevanceness. Relevanceness pertains to the essence of something being related, relevant, and meaningful within the context. Transnationalness. Transnationalness is reflected in a program when it extends and reaches across national boundaries in order to provide opportunities for children as emerging global citizens. Transnationalness can be found in curriculum, resources and materials, technologies, DL strategies, and teachers and caregivers. World English Speakers. “The term World English Speakers (WES) has emerged to name all the peoples of the world who now speak this language and lay claim to it as their own” (Han & Singh, 2007, p. 65).

7

Research Methodology

7.1 Research Method Investigation of FOBI-P4 followed case study analysis, a research strategy, widely used in the social sciences (Hartley, 2004; Stake, 2000) in order to arrive at a holistic view. The motivation of researchers for conducting the case study analysis was to understand the true picture of the FOBI-P4 project from the perceptions of EI teachers and administrators in the study (Gillham, 2000). This case study includes three different Kindergarten programs that participated in order to explore the FOBI-P4 project in a broad and open-ended manner (Hartley, 2004). According to Yin (2013), a variety of evidence provides sources for case studies. Therefore, the English Immersion – Teacher Evaluation and Feedback Form – Revision 4 (EI-TEFF-R4) structured teacher observations and document analysis; and anecdotal notes were recorded during semi-structured interviews. The EI-TEFF-R4 was used in two ways. First, one researcher observed lessons taught by seven EI teachers and completed one EI-TEFF-R4 per teacher during May 2016 or December 2016. Second, document analysis was conducted by one researcher on EI-TEFF-R4 instruments completed by two graduate assistants for the China-based researcher from September 2016 through November 2016. Anecdotal notes recorded by one researcher were compiled during semistructured interviews held in May 2016 or December 2016 with teachers and administrators or curriculum coordinators. In addition, findings were checked with participants by the China-based researcher, as checking findings with case study participants is a valuable part of the analysis and enhances validity (Hartley, 2004). Additionally, the practice of referencing literature was completed to show consistency or differences in extant research (Hartley, 2004).

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7.2 Setting The investigations took place at three private, for-profit Kindergartens operated by two corporations located in Beijing, PRC. At least two members of the respective Boards of Directors were former teachers of young children, hold academic credentials for teaching young children, and continue to be involved in professional development or teacher training in the field of early childhood education and care, as well as being involved in parent engagement activities at the Kindergartens. Board members for the respective Kindergartens frequently visit and provide or participate in professional development for administrators, teachers, and community members. They observe children’s activities at each Kindergarten, and coordinate special events. In keeping with early childhood education and care reform initiatives in China, each educator is trained and each environment is designed to attend to children’s physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development (Zhu, 2015). Each Kindergarten employs a minimum of two EI teachers. Each EI teacher works with a nativeChinese teacher assistant and a classroom aide trained in hygiene and nursing duties. The class size is 18 to 21 children. 7.3 Population Participants were seven EI teachers and four administrators. CCUEI researchers from BISU (PRC) and Ohio University, United States of America (USA) conducted observations and interviews. The China-based researcher interpreted for administrators or curriculum coordinators and the nonMandarin speaker researcher, as needed. Teachers. Two teachers were employed by two Kindergartens and three teachers were employed by one Kindergarten, for a total of seven teacher participants. All teachers shared the following characteristics: baccalaureate degrees (100%), between the ages of twenty-four- and thirty-two years of age (100%), and no college or university preparation in working with kindergartenlevel children (100%). All teachers participated in early childhood EI teacher training and professional development (100%). As Table 5.1 shows, teachers were diverse in several ways: baccalaureate preparation programs, nationality, first language speaker (L1), sex, and time in service as a Kindergarten teacher (1–14 years). Teachers held degrees in business (28.5%), communications (14.25%), economics (14.25%) and English (50%). Five were first-year teachers (71.4%); one was a second year teacher in the Kindergarten (14.25%); and one was in her fourteenth year of teaching. The nations represented by teachers were Australia (14.25%) China (28.5%), Iceland (14.25%), Russia (14.25%), Ukraine (14.25%), and the United States (14.25%). English was the L1 for two teachers (33.3%) and the L2 (66.6%) for five teachers. There were two males (28.5%) and five females (71.4%).

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table 5.1  Teacher demographics

EI teacher T 1–6

Sex Level of M-F education

Degree major

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

F F M F M F

English English Economics English Business Communications

Baccalaureate Baccalaureate Baccalaureate Baccalaureate Baccalaureate Baccalaureate

L1

L2

Years of experience

Chinese Chinese Ukrainian Russian Icelandic English

English English English English English None

14 years 1 year 1 year 1 year 2 year 1 year

Administrators. Administrators were program principals and/or curriculum directors. Principals functioned as instructional leaders, supervising the operation of the campus and activities in individual classrooms, interacting with staff, evaluating staff and teachers, and involving parents and community members. Curriculum directors were early childhood education and care content specialists who developed curriculum and provided professional development, training, and mentoring for classroom teachers. 7.4 Data Sources Data sources were the EI-TEFF-R4 (see Appendix) and anecdotal records from semi-structured interviews with teachers and administrators. EI-TEFF-R4. The EI-TEFF-R4 is a bilingual (Mandarin and English) evaluation and feedback form based on the original EI-TEFF (Trube & Huang, 2009) that had been previously introduced and completed for the teacher with 14 years of experience, as well as with the second year teacher, in the previous year. The China-based researcher introduced the EI-TEFF-R4 over a three-month period preceding this study. EI-TEFF-R4 Observations. Data were collected on all teachers using one administration of the EI-TEFF-R4 by one researcher as the two researchers observed the 30 minute lessons from May 2016 through December 2016. The teachers were provided feedback in English following observation by the researchers. EI-TEFF-R4 Document Analysis. Instruments completed by the graduate students for the China-based researcher in order to introduce new teachers to the EI-TEFF-R4 were analyzed to familiarize the researchers with new teachers’ EI practices.

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Anecdotal records. Anecdotal records were compiled from semi-structured interviews with teachers held in the Kindergartens’ conference rooms. Interviews with administrators took place in two venues: Kindergarten conference rooms and at local restaurants. Each individual semi-structured interview took approximately thirty minutes. Group interviews in restaurants were informal focus groups. The researchers took anecdotal notes during the interviews and focus groups. Three days following the conclusion of the observations, interviews, and focus groups, researchers discussed notes, coded responses, and identified emerging themes. Teachers. Teachers at each of the three Kindergartens were interviewed in English in pairs or triads in the Kindergarten conference room by researchers. Six prompts or questions guided each semi-structured interview session with teachers, as follows: – Tell us about your work in the FOBI-P4 program. – How competent do you feel in your ability to implement the project? – In your view, how does the curriculum and pedagogy capture children’s interests? – In what way is the curriculum relevant and related to children’s lives as citizens of the world? – How are the curriculum and pedagogy innovative? – How can the FOBI-P4 program better support your needs? Administrators. Four administrators, principals and/or curriculum directors, were interviewed singly in English by one researcher with translation into Mandarin by the other researcher. The administrators’ responses were in English and/or Mandarin and translated orally by the China-based researcher into English. Anecdotal notes were recorded by the native English speaking researcher. Three prompts were used to discuss FOBI-P4 at each Kindergarten: – What do you consider to be the strengths of the project at your Kindergarten? – What are your areas of concern and your recommendations for improvement? – How can the FOBI-P4 program better support your Kindergarten? Small groups of administrators and researchers constituted informal focus groups that discussed FOBI-P4 in a holistic manner. Ethical Considerations Confidentiality of participants and Kindergartens is protected as an ethical consideration of the study. The names of individual Kindergartens, educators and administrators are not used. Data obtained by

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researchers or graduate assistants for the China-based researcher, between May 2016 and December 2016, are stored in a locked cabinet and will be shredded upon publication of this chapter. Limitations of the Study. This study’s limitations include the small sample size, the diversity of the lead teachers, and the length of time teachers have been in-service at the Kindergartens. The data collected in semi-structured interviews with four administrators is sparse.

8

Review of Relevant Literature

8.1 Context of FOBI-P4 The fact that China has placed high value on education throughout its history cannot be overstated. Confucian philosophy places education in high esteem (Cheng, 1991; Riegel, 2013). The context of FOBI-P4 is influenced by the Chinese history of education in general, the histories of English language teaching (ELT) and EI, early childhood education and care, and recent educational reforms that include CCUEI. This historical context is intended to position FOBI-P4 and not to attempt to represent substantive accounts available from historians and scholars. ELT in China. China’s history of offering formal English language education has spanned over 100 years. The English language is recognized as a lingua franca and has gained unprecedented recognition as the international language for academic, diplomatic, scientific, technological, tourist, and trade communications under globalization (Kelly, 2004). Corrêa (n.d.) suggests that globalization can also refer to the transnational circulation of ideas, languages, and popular culture (para. 3). English is “globally acknowledged to be the most global language of all times” (Corrêa, n.d., para 6). Thus, Han and Singh (2007) propose that English is a transnational language. “The term World English Speakers (WES) has emerged to name all the peoples of the world who now speak this language and lay claim to it as their own” (Han & Singh, 2007, p. 65). Early childhood care and education. The first public Kindergartens in China date to 1903, when American missionaries brought teachers from Japan (Spodek, 1988). In the 1920s, programs for the young children of farmers and factory workers founded in Nanjing and Shanghai were influenced by John Dewey’s philosophies where children were to “employ both hands and minds; to learn by doing” (Zhou, 2007, p. 972). In the 1940s, the first experimental child education center and teacher training school for early childhood education were established with standards that emphasized good Chinese citizenship,

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the use of nature and social life, and the principle of learning by doing (Zhou, 2007). Following World War II, Chinese educators promoted Kindergarten as the basis for nation-building by instilling good habits and attitudes in young children; and by 1952, the Ministry of Education specified that early childhood programs must “ensure that children have a healthy physical and mental development upon entering the elementary school… [and] relieve the burden of child care from mothers, so mothers are able to have the time to participate in political, productive and educational activities” (Zhou, 2007, p. 971). The National Conference on Education encouraged organizations, businesses, and industries to sponsor Kindergarten programs. Education and care for young children became part of the services of organizations, institutes, and provincial governments. In 1989, China developed a policy to build the public and political profile of ECCE and boost levels of children’s participation in Kindergartens. Furthermore, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines ECCE as a holistic approach supporting “children’s survival, growth, development and learning—including health, nutrition and hygiene, and cognitive, social, physical and emotional development—from birth to entry into primary school in formal, informal and non-formal settings” (UNESCO, 2006, p. 17). China’s Education Ministry, the All-China Women’s Federation, and the Public Health Ministry strongly support policies promoting ECCE for all children (Trube, Li, & Chi, 2013). China’s ECCE reforms. Stringent qualifications for early childhood teachers, principals, and other Kindergarten staff were in place by 1996 (Deng, Poon-McBrayer, & Farnsworth, 2001). In 2001, the government issued guidelines for gradually putting progressive ideas into practice while emphasizing the holistic evaluation of children through authentic assessment methods (Deng et al., 2001). The guidelines promoted knowledge of child development, active learning, attention to individual differences and group functioning, respectful relationships between staff and children, and holistic evaluation of children. For the first time, the new reform proposals embraced the notion that “early childhood education is the foundation of lifelong learning…to help children cultivate a positive attitude towards learning and good living habits in an inspiring and enjoyable environment” (Education Commission, 2000, p. 30). The Guidelines of Child Development were issued for 2001- 2010 to increase opportunities for children and families to access education and care (Zhu, 2006). The Commission suggested well-prepared early childhood teachers and reformed curriculum that will prepare children for globalization (Zhu, 2015).

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8.2 Relevant Research and Contextual Framework This brief review of literature supporting the investigation focuses on neuroscience research, environmental factors, and best practices for DLLs. Neuroscience research considers parent-child and teacher-child relationships and their importance in the DL teaching and learning contexts to promote children’s feelings of relatedness. Relevant research on the environment is presented to investigate the environmental impact on children’s feelings of relatedness in the teacher-prepared environment and the relevanceness of the prepared environment in children’s lives; children’s interestness in materials, media, and technologies; children’s philosophical wondering promoted by the prepared environment; and children’s successes as a direct result of personalization of the environment. Current research on best practices in ELT for DLLs is investigated with emphasis on support provided by teachers and parents during picture book reading and personalized project-based teaching and learning strategies. Neuroscience. Children’s early years include critical periods for development and learning. Early childhood is a sensitive period for optimal learning (Blakemore & Frith, 2005; National Science Council on the Developing Child, 2007b; Shore, 1997). Shonkoff (2007) provides evidence of hierarchical brain development: low-level information is processed and learned before complex and sophisticated information. Kuhl (2010) reports findings that “language is one of the classic examples of a critical or sensitive period in neurobiology” (p. 716). Language development is complex and multifaceted; and social interactions and cognitive processes and attention, play significant roles in language acquisition (Kuhl, 2010). Further, major predictors of effective brain development and social-emotional functioning are the sensitivity and predictability of caring and responsible relationships with adults (Shonkoff, 2007). Social interactions among teachers and learners are enhanced by play and are relevant in activity theory (Sullivan, 2000). Moreover, studies using neuroimaging reveal that positive emotional contexts enhance language development and word memory (Erk, Kiefer, Grothe, Wunderlich, Spitzer, & Walter, 2003). Parent relationships. Positive relationships between parents and their children are fundamental to brain development (Fogel, King, & Shanker, 2009). Parenting practices that include responsiveness and warmth, using complex language, and reading to children are associated with positive outcomes for children (Bradley, 2002). Teacher relationships. Positive relationships between teachers and children depend in part on teachers’ knowledge of child development, including early brain development. Several important aspects of children’s learning are essential for teachers to know, e.g.: (1) importance of observation, modeling, and practice; (2) linkages among emotions, learning, and memory; (3) importance of relatedness; and (4) importance of relevanceness.

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Importance of observation, modeling, and practice. Children learn through observation and imitation due to a mirror neuron system and its impact on cognitive processes including language, art, observational learning, social cognition, and interaction (Blakemore, Winstron, & Frith, 2004). Mirror neurons appear to help children learn and feel what is observed (Geake, 2009), suggesting why teacher modeling and demonstrations are effective instructional strategies (Chong et al., 2008). When teachers model confidence, keep a positive emotional tone and attitude, persist, and show wonder, preference for challenge, and enthusiasm in learning, they “maximize the chances that young children will exhibit these same motivational qualities” (Carlton & Winsler, 1998, p. 165). Teachers learn through observing children’s development, collecting data, acting on the data by personalizing and building upon children’s prior knowledge in order to plan for instruction, instruct, and assess instruction; and, finally, by reflecting on the experiences make adjustments to promote learning in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), the “difference between what an individual can do independently and what he or she is able to do with mediation, including changes in mediation over time” (Lantolf, Thorne, & Poehner, 2015, p. 214). Linkages among emotions, learning, and memory. Research indicates “attention drives both learning and memory” (Rushton, Eitelgeorge, & Zickafoose, 2003, p. 18). Teachers who recognize the linkages among emotions, learning, and memory attend to children’s wellbeing, attention, and motivation to learn. When children experience excessive stress, fear, or anxiety, and have difficulty maintaining attention and engagement, neural processes are compromised (Erk et al., 2003). Importance of relatedness. “Relatedness involves the ability to develop secure and stable relationships with others in a social context,” (Carlton & Winsler, 1998, p. 159). Relatedness is linked with social stimulation as children interact in an environment that is familiar, predictable, and responsive to their interests. Feeling special to teachers, peers, and parents triggers effort, persistence at a task, and participation (Furrer & Skinner, 2003). Relatedness is a key predictor of engagement, which contributes to learning and development. The environments within which children learn, promote a sense of relatedness when they reflect the culture of the children, promote cultural values, and provide enrichment. 8.3 Effective DL Teaching and Learning Practices Effective DL teaching and learning practices documented in the literature are embedded in the EI-TEFF-R4 (see Appendix A) evaluation tool used in this study. Those aspects of effective DL teaching and learning highlighted in this

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section include attention to the environment, socio-cultural theory, and DL practices. Attention to the Environment. Contemporary theoretical approaches to learning and development emphasize the need to provide children with culturally sensitive, emotionally responsive, and personalized learning environments (Dahlberg, Moss, & Pence, 1999). Integration of adult-led learning, child-directed exploration, and guided learning build upon children’s interests, culture, development, and previous learning experiences to extend children’s thinking, learning, and development. While children’s interests and prior knowledge are used as a foundation for a teacher’s pedagogical focus, teachers must focus attention on broadening and deepening children’s cognitive, linguistic, physical, and social-emotional development to take them beyond their current levels of knowledge, skills, and understanding (Tregenza, 2006). Personalized environments responsive to children’s personal skills, talents, needs, and interests help them feel comfortable and competent. Personalization takes into account children’s cultural belief systems and learning styles, suggesting the need for varied, stimulating experiences based on differences (Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett, & Farmer, 2008). Likewise, cultural relevance and relatedness increase attention by incorporating glocal (melding global with local) concepts into EI teaching (Jean Francois, 2015). Attention to Sociocultural Theory. Kindergartens reflect and support the members’ cultures and are mandated to produce the kind of child the culture most values (Tobin, Yeh, & Karasawa, 2006). Socio-cultural theory contends that “developmental processes take place through participation in cultural, linguistic, and historically formed settings such as family life, peer group interaction, and institutional contexts like schooling” where personalizing, intervention, and creating conditions for development take place (Lantolf, Thorne, & Poehner, 2015, p. 208). Mental functioning is a socially mediated process organized by cultural artifacts, activities, and concepts (Ratner, 2002); consequently, socio-cultural theory provides teachers and curriculum directors with a solid foundation for developing symbolic tools, materials, and technologies for enacting positive interventions with DLLs (Lantolf, Thorne, & Poehner, 2015, p. 222). Attention to DL Teaching Practices. The Noticing Hypothesis theory proposed by Schmidt (Schmidt, 2012), the Comprehensible Output theory proposed by Swain (2000), and the Generative Learning theory by Wittrock (Meyer, 2010) support the supposition that attention is a critically important cognitive basis for learning (Baldwin, 1995). Based on children’s biological and psychological characteristics, together with the limitation, alternation, and controllability of attention, FOBI-P4 designers have proposed that

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teaching young Chinese L1 children English (L2) should build on children’s interests, so as to increase attention in order to help children learn English. Intentional teaching in an enriched language learning environment leads to higher levels of attention and engagement (Tomasello, 1995, 2014) as demonstrated by interestness, relatedness, and relevanceness. Interest research suggests “interestingness of learning material and task significantly influence the development of learners’ academic interest” (Sha, Schunn, Bathgate, & Ben-Eliyahu, 2015, p. 18) and, thus, glocal materials will enhance attention (Jean Francois, 2015). Ease of comprehension, surprise, and novelty also promote children’s interest (Palmer, 2009) and philosophical wondering. Prior knowledge enhances ease of comprehension; and surprise and novelty promote children’s attention (Meyer, 2010). Lantolf, Thorne, and Poehner (2015) assert that L2 learning “may be optimally guided when intentional effort is made to sensitize interactions to learners’ emergent needs, and when there is participation in culturally oriented and organized activities” (p. 218). Attention to DLL teaching practices references those in picture book reading with dialogic reading strategies and project-based learning. Empirical data are scarce in these areas, however, anecdotal evidence abounds. Picture book reading with dialogic reading strategies. In 1976, Bader defined a picture book as “text, illustrations, total design; …a social, cultural, historic document; and foremost an experience for a child” (p. 1). Children construct and build knowledge as they invoke schema to understand the text aided by pictures and illustrations (Beltchenko, 2016). Beltchenko (2016) also highlights storybooks’ power to help children “investigate their wondering, and see the world beyond the limits of their immediate surroundings” (p. 145). When teachers and caregivers use storybooks and picture books in teaching literacy through inquiry, exploration of resources, and response to the children’s wonderings, they address children’s intellectual goals, sense of aesthetics, and moral sensibilities (Gillanders & Castro, 2014; Katz, 2015). As children interpret and comprehend what they see in picture books, their understanding expands and their visual literacy is enhanced, promoting critical and creative thinking (Yenawine, 2014). Project-based strategies. Project-based learning is linked to the constructivist theory of learning that stresses higher order thinking skills and performancebased, authentic assessments (Stites, 1998). It makes use of process over product and what Bruner (1996) referred to as knowledge-getting. Brewster and Fagerm (2000) compiled 20 years of research on project-based instruction indicating student attention, motivation, persistence, and engagement lead to high achievement. Research on long-term benefits of project-based learning

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in curricula (Katz & Chard, 1989) supports the rationale for incorporating project-based learning at all levels of children’s education. In the acclaimed kindergarten-level early childhood schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, projectbased teaching and learning outcomes led to their program’s recognition as one of the premier early childhood education systems in the world (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 2000). Project-based strategies have been found to motivate DLL, English as a Foreign Language (EFL), and English as Second Language (ESL) students by allowing them to have a role in selecting topics they find interesting and relevant (Helm, Beneke, & Steinheimer, 2007). Projects are considered especially effective when teaching and learning associated with the projects are supported by technology (Blumenfeld, Soloway, Marx, Krajcik, Guzdial, & Palincsar, 1991). Project-based teaching and learning promotes joint attention, collaboration, and co-construction of learning among teachers and children (Helm & Katz, 2000). Joint attention fosters many opportunities for children to be involved in talk, tasks, and collaborative actions with teachers and peers. Establishing joint attention and joint collaboration with children increases their “feelings of relatedness and agency and advance language” (Carlton & Winsler, 1998, p. 165). Vasalou (2015) suggests wonder is “a mode of attentiveness whose higher status as an ideal speaks to our yearning for a way of being or way of living shaped by intense aliveness to the world” (p. 204). Projects promote philosophical wondering; as Gregory (2002) asserts, philosophy “offers children the experience of collective inquiry: of sharing responsibility for the inquiry with a group of peers…and of constructing the kind of common understanding and shared interests that make collective action possible and worthwhile” (p. 11). Project-based practices noted by Trube and Huang (2009) in CCUEI EI classroom observations conducted in Xi’an, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen include the following: (1) using demonstrations; (2) modeling and role playing; (3) providing new information in the context of known information; (4) repeating words, phrases, and sentence patterns to enhance content vocabulary; (5) following routines; (6) cooperative learning with co-construction of knowledge; (7) sketching real objects; (8) viewing print, photos, videos, and films; (9) developing models; (10) exploring with objects; (11) personalizing instructional media; and (12) reviewing what is learned by telling others (p. 3).

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Findings of the Study

Analysis of the data addressed the research questions identified in Section 3. Following are the question topics and findings.

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9.1 Question 1: Teacher Competence Based on EI-TIFF-R4 Indicators FOBI-P4 EI Teachers’ Levels related to EI-TEFF-P4 in indicators of teachers’ competence in planning, instruction, and assessment (index, A) using the scoring of “U” for unsatisfactory, “B” for basic, “P” for proficient, and “O” for outstanding, for seven EI teachers were averaged based on the EI-TEFF data on record and the data collected during the conduct of the study. Planning. Data for the indicators under planning for instruction revealed the following: – A.1 Score: P – “teacher has a written lesson plan meeting English immersion teaching requirements”; – A.2 Score: P – “teacher plans learning goals and objectives in both the content area and English language according to students’ needs”; – A.3 Score Range: B – P – “teacher establishes and maintains consistent classroom and instructional routines and procedures”; – A.4 Score Range: B – P – “teacher establishes and maintains consistent classroom and instructional routines and procedures”; – A.5 Score Range: B – P – “teacher establishes and maintains consistent rules of conduct for student behavior and clearly communicates expectations”; – A.6 Score Range: B – O “ teacher creates a rich English language environment by displaying words, phrases, written text, visuals and real objects throughout the classroom.” Instruction and assessment. Data for the indicators B under instruction and assessment of instruction revealed the following: – B.1 Score Range: B – O – “teacher clearly communicates content-learning goals and objectives to students”; – B.2 Score: P – O “teacher clearly communicates expectations of English language use in the content area to students”; – B.3 Score Range: B – O – “teacher models accurate use of language, articulates and enunciates clearly”; – B.4 Score Range: P – O – “ teacher uses different modes of expression to help students understand the content of learning [body language, facial expressions, gestures, vocalizing, intonations]”; – B.5 Range: B – O – “teacher uses a variety of activities to involve students in the learning process [small group, cooperative learning, role plays, simulations, dramas, presentations]”; – B.6 Score Range: B – O – “teacher uses questioning and responding methods to enhance student enthusiasm for engaging in higher-order thinking skills and using English language”;

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– B.7 Score: O – “ teacher uses class time effectively, maintains the flow of the lesson and adjusts learning activities as the situation demands”; – B.8 Score Range: U – P – “teacher monitors learning of all students by frequently checking for understanding and providing feedback before, during and after instruction”; – B.9 Score Range: U – B – “ teacher creates or selects evaluation strategies that are appropriate for the students and that are aligned with the objectives and goals of the lesson.” 9.2 Question 2: Teachers Self-Perceptions of Competence Anecdotal notes were compiled regarding teachers’ perceptions of their competence to implement the FOBI-P4 project at their respective Kindergartens. Differences regarding self-perceived competence varied among groups. Teachers whose L1was English, or who were in the second or fourteenth year of in-service, perceived themselves as competent on all indicators of EITEFF-R4 and indicated their perception of competence by statements such as, “I am prepared for my children with books and activities in the classroom,” “Children use English words with me on the playground,” and “Parents talk about children’s English vocabulary – they are surprised at how much English their child knows!” Five teachers whose L1 was other than English indicated feeling somewhat competent, however, stating they needed ongoing support provided by the project leaders. Teachers whose L1 was Chinese and L2 was English perceived themselves as more competent than other EI teachers, as indicated by statements such as, “My children understand what I am saying and asking them to do,” “The children are performing all the tasks and activities in the lesson according to my directions in English,” and, “Children are eager and excited to play the English games.” EI teachers whose L2 was English mentioned that they “rely on their teaching assistants and sometimes the classroom aide to participate in classroom activities and be a role model for children.” One teacher expressed a view of second-year and beginning English L2 teachers, “The children look to her so they know what they are supposed to do.” All seven EI teachers felt the most competent in reading picture book stories to children giving the following reasons: children like the stories; children name the pictures in the stories; concepts learned in one story provides prior knowledge for other stories; and children sometimes memorize and repeat entire stories. All seven felt competent to develop glocal teaching materials and create personalized picture books for their classes.

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Three EI teachers expressed concerns that they were not competent in addressing parents’ comments related to their child’s use of English. 9.3 Question 3: Administrators Views of FOBI-P4 Project Areas How FOBI-P4 project areas address the concepts of interestness, relatedness, relevanceness, transnationalness, and innovativeness was compiled in unstructured interviews with administrators. Their responses focus on the diversity of teachers employed in the Kindergartens and promotion of activities such as the Picture Book Reading Project involving parents, WeChat, and professional development initiatives of the Kindergartens. Interestness. Principals, supervisors, or curriculum directors observing EI teachers noted that children are most interested and engaged in lessons involving familiar topics and objects, e. g., family members, animals, toys, transportation, and festivals. Children are more engaged in learning English when playing, singing, chanting, viewing videos, and reading and talking about picture books with friends, teachers, and parents or grandparents. The following statement is representative: “Children and parents enjoy the picture books.” Relatedness. Administrators attend to the families and communities served by the Kindergartens. All Kindergartens serve working parents involved in the corporate sector and government agencies. According to administrators, themes used to explain relatedness included parents’ choices of placing children in the environment because each Kindergarten provides for children’s wellbeing by having nurses in the classroom, a nutritionist overseeing children’s diets, safety and security of the campus, and the curriculum. The themes included teaching children the Chinese three perfections—calligraphy, poetry, and painting; sports and a “Sport Day” involving the entire Kindergarten; projects based on Reggio Emilia, Canadian, and American approaches; professional development in current approaches; and foreign visitors. The following statement is representative: “Ours is an art Kindergarten. Children learn English words for Chinese arts. We say the three perfections; children learn calligraphy, poetry, and painting in the Chinese style.” Relevanceness. Interviews and focus group comments revealed themes such as the following: Kindergartens seek high rating by the government and do so by following standards; administrators recruit and work to retain the best teachers; attention to the classroom environment by administrators is ongoing; providing for classroom supplies and materials is an important part of daily operations. The following is a representative statement: “We use the best videos and PPTs and books to teach English. The children need to

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recognize places, objects, and ideas they are learning about to understand and learn about them in English.” Transnationalness. Administrators pointed to teachers, teacher training, and curriculum as being transnational. EI teachers who speak world-Englishes are hired from different countries. Teacher training reflects western and eastern influences. The following themes were expressed by all Kindergartens regarding the curriculum: English language books for EI teaching; Reggio Emilia concepts of light and transparency in the environment, nature in the classroom, and group projects; German math games to develop critical thinking; Olympic sports to develop coordination and fitness; Montessoriinspired materials for fine motor skills and concentration; international videos to learn about scientific phenomena; arts found throughout the world. The following statements are representative: “Our kindergarten children will grow up to be part of the globalized world. They need to understand people from different countries,” “Our teachers are from different nations – the U.S, Iceland, Australia, and Russia. They all teach English.” “Our teachers want children to be prepared for their futures. Learning English is part of them being prepared for the future.” Innovativeness. Administrators related the concept of innovativeness to marketing the Kindergartens. A theme of remaining innovative in a continuous manner was expressed. Administrators recognized the reality that the Kindergarten must be progressive and prepare children for their futures. Three strategies perceived as innovative by administrators were cited: Sports’ Day Olympic-like Kindergarten-wide celebration; picture book reading with dialogic reading strategies communicated by WeChat; and the Young Ambassadors writing project initiative. The following statement is representative: “Parents want to be involved in their children’s kindergarten programs and we involve them.” 9.4 Question 4: Support for FOBI-P4 Teachers and administrators were asked how the FOBI-P4 project of CCUEI could help support the work of the Kindergartens. Similarities and differences emerged in the answers given by groups. All administrators cited the following needs: recruitment of more and better early childhood EI teachers, more visits by foreign experts, continued English language training for teaching assistants by BISU, more frequent teacher training, teacher observations with evaluations and feedback to teachers, and more teaching materials. All teachers cited the following needs: time to work together to plan lessons, more materials, more training, more books, help with classroom management strategies, help with parent questions.

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Discussion

10.1 Question I: Teacher Competence Based on EI-TEFF-R4 Seven EI teachers scored in the “outstanding” range in using class time effectively, maintaining the flow of the lesson, and adjusting learning activities as the situation demands. Teachers were proficient or better in communicating expectations of English language use in the content area, using different modes of language expression, and having a written lesson stating learning goals and objectives in both the content area and English language based on students’ needs. Variability in teachers’ abilities was observed in the following: creating a rich English language environment by displaying words, phrases, written text, visuals and real objects throughout the classroom; modeling accurate use of language by articulating and enunciating clearly; using a variety of activities to involve students in the learning process through engagement in small group, cooperative learning, role plays, simulations, dramas, and presentations; and questioning and responding methods to enhance student enthusiasm for engaging in higher-order thinking skills and using English language. All teachers were basic or unsatisfactory in their competence to create or select appropriate evaluation strategies aligned with the goals of the lesson. 10.2 Question 2: Teachers’ Self-Perceptions of Competence All teachers expressed their self-perception of competence working in a relational zone with children in their classes (Goldstein, 1999). Teachers strive to know children as individuals in order to personalize the environment, make appropriate activity choices, or create interesting and relevant stories for them. Teachers felt competent developing glocal materials, and added they needed time and resources to engage in this work. The data suggested teachers perceive that teacher training sessions would serve to increase their competence. 10.3 Question 3: Administrators’ Views of FOBI-P4 Project Areas The FOBI-P4 project addresses concepts of interestness, relatedness, relevanceness, transnationalness, and innovativeness by supporting all aspects of the Kindergartens. Administrators rely on FOBI-P4 innovations to address Chinese government initiatives related to early education and care for the 21st century. The project leaders, CCUEI native-speakers, and BISU graduate students deliver teacher training and professional development for diverse teachers employed in the Kindergartens. Project leaders participate in parent meetings, parent education, and model lessons. Three strategies perceived as innovative by administrators were cited: Sports’ Day Olympic-like Kindergarten-wide

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celebration, picture book reading with dialogic reading strategies communicated by WeChat; and the Young Ambassadors writing project initiative. 10.4 Question 4: Support for FOBI-P4 Administrators are experiencing the loss of EI teachers each year and expressed a need for CCUEI to help recruit more and better early childhood EI teachers. Likewise, they requested visits by foreign experts and continued English language training for teaching assistants by BISU graduate students. Administrators and teachers cited the following needs: more materials, more training, and more books. Teachers requested help with classroom management strategies, parent questions, and time management.

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Recommendations

Synthesis of the data reveals there are positive outcomes for the FOBI-P4 EI initiative. Administrators and teachers indicated parents express a high level of satisfaction as realized, for example, through parent participation in WeChat picture book reading. The findings suggest the following recommendations for implementation and sustainability: Continue to choose and intentionally craft materials and glocal teaching resources for FOBI-P4 in collaboration with Kindergarten leaders, administrators, parents, and university partners to create and sustain children’s attention and interest. Base choices on the curriculum’s relevance and relatedness to children’s lives and national identity. Choose quality resources, engaging strategies, and relationship-building approaches supported by neuroscience. Highlight the transnational aspects of the Kindergartens, the use of English as children’s (L2) in developing content literacy (Han & Singh, 2007) and the work of preparing children as world citizens. Continue ongoing professional development in a community of practice, preparing teachers and their assistants to teach English as a transnational language (Molina, 2015). Kindergarten leaders continue to disseminate knowledge about best practices in early childhood education from around the world. Provide modeling by expert teachers, frequent teacher observations and evaluations with feedback, development of glocal materials with technology-supported resources, parent interaction supported by technology, and ongoing mentoring by experienced early childhood educators.

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Mary Barbara Trube Ohio University, USA Rong Yan, Beijing International Studies University, China

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Appendix A: EI-TEFF-R4

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chapter 6

Innovative Teaching, Learning and Technologies for Transformation of Thai Higher Education toward Outcome-Based Education Krittika Tanprasert

1

Introduction

A history of Thai higher education started in 1889 with the establishment of the first medical school, then law, royal pages, and engineering schools. In 1917, the first multidisciplinary university, Chulalongkorn University, was founded. Many other public universities were formed with various specialization and purposes after that. The entrance examination of the university was very competitive. Therefore, open universities and private higher education institutes were established to meet the higher educational demand. Presently, there are 176 higher education institutes in Thailand, and enrollment in higher education has become a norm for the society. Higher educational institutes, regardless of size and type, are now facing new challenges, and educational transformation is needed. Challenges for Thai higher education are from demographic changes and government policies. Thailand is becoming an aging society because of the longer life expectancy and low birth rate. It reduces the number of regular students (age group); therefore, students have more alternatives in terms of the university in which they want to enroll. By the year 2031, it is predicted that one-third of the Thai population will be older than 60, which is the retirement age for many organizations. This group has the potential to re-enroll in the universities, but it may not be for the purpose of obtaining a degree. An inadequate skilled workforce is another problem that exists both in Thailand and in the global market. The increasing need of a skilled workforce is evidenced in the difficulty of filling certain positions. This difficulty arose from two main reasons: a lack of applicants and a lack of technical competencies (hard skills). Lacking experience and workplace competencies (soft skills) are additional problems but to a lesser degree. (Manpower Group, 2015). Similar to world trends, the problem of the Thai workforce is the mismatch in quality and quantity. Graduates do not have what employers are looking for, and the number of those that have relevant competencies is less than the labor © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi 10.1163/9789004366077_006

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market demand. Recommendations were made to alleviate this problem, but those that are relevant to education suggest that programs should be designed according to the actual workplace and workforce demand (Skill Power Service, Manpower group, 2016). Thai government policies are also drivers for educational transform. The decision to join the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Community will bring about changes as it allows more student and workforce mobility. Thai higher educational institutes must be appealing enough to all ASEAN students because they will have even more alternatives. Also, the job market for graduates will be more competitive, and it is critical for Thai higher educational institutes to prepare their graduates with quality and quantity that match employee demand. The new economic model that the government has just introduced, Thailand 4.0, is another factor in urging Thai higher educational institutes to rethink how they conduct teaching and learning. The economy of Thailand 4.0 will shift from advanced industry to innovative/value-based industry in order to achieve economic prosperity, social well-being (that no one is left behind), a rise in human value by becoming competent beings that belong to the 21st century, and environmental protection so that Thailand is a livable society. This certainly affects graduate quality that the Thai society in the near future requires and expects us to deliver. The aforementioned statements strongly indicate that Thai higher educational institutes need to transform education now in order to be ready to face challenges of the very near future. The transformation should take place in order to produce graduates that can function well and eventually drive the Thailand 4.0 economy, being a good citizen as well as a skilled workforce for ASEAN community (AC). Teaching and learning should be transformed to take into account the diversity of students in order to be ready for non-traditional, exchange and international students. It is our belief that outcome-based education (OBE) is the strategy that can help us accomplish this transformation. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate the implementation of OBE in some ASEAN countries as well as the practice of OBE in Thailand with the case study of King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi.

2

Outcome-Based Education

Outcome-based education (OBE) is an educational strategy that has been adopted in several nations as an educational reform strategy. Some of the reasons for the adoption are the need of a skilled workforce (Tremblay, Lalancete, & Roseveare, 2012) and the move toward a knowledge society,

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where the emphasis is on creating and applying knowledge for the purpose of practical use rather than just merely acquiring it (Kawashima, 2008). OBE does not focus only on the knowledge given to students but rather competence, which includes the knowledge, skills and attitude that students will have at the end of the program. With its principles, students will develop both soft and hard skills that are relevant to the demand of future employers. According to Spady, OBE means “clearly focusing and organizing everything in an educational system around what is essential for all students to be able to do successfully at the end of their learning experiences” (Spady, 1994). OBE is also viewed with a concept of “product defines process” (Harden, 1999). In this case, the product is the learning outcome, which states clearly what students must be able to do successfully. The learning outcome can include subject-related academic outcomes, mainly specific disciplines and some cross disciplines, and long term cross-curricular outcomes that are related directly to students’ future life as productive workers or responsible citizens (Spady, 1994). The process of making it happen is defined accordingly with the concept of constructive alignment between the learning outcome, teaching activities and assessment. The implementation of OBE is viewed as backward design and forward delivery. Backward design refers to having a clear outcome and working back to design the curriculum down to learning activities and assessment. Forward delivery indicates the actual learning and assessment activities that lead to the identified outcomes. The implementation of OBE has three basic premises (Killen, 2013): 1 All students can learn and succeed but not all at the same time or in the same way 2 Successful learning promotes even more successful learning 3 Schools (and teachers) control the conditions that determine whether or not students are successful at school learning OBE is result-oriented, where the result or outcome is clearly identified and the achievement of it is guaranteed. This outcome is called the “learning outcome” or intended learning outcome. The program learning outcome (PLO) is derived from input from stakeholders, such as future employers and alumni. It must also cover predefined requirements from government bodies, such as the Commission of Higher Education, the educational institution that hosts the program, as well as the accreditation bodies. The latter are usually discipline-specific. This renders the program capable of producing graduates with quality relevant to the demand of future employers as well as society. The course learning outcome (CLO) is developed according to the PLOs that the particular course is expected to contribute to.

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As for the process, OBE is a student-centered approach because the priority is what students learn and master after the learning experience. The four basic questions to ask in OBE are (Chandrama, 2003; Ismail et al., 2007): – – – –

What do you want them to learn? Why do you want them to learn? How do you help them to learn? How will you know what they have learnt?

From these four basic questions, it is clear that OBE is not just the addition of learning outcomes to a traditional curriculum. It requires an adjustment to all aspects including teaching, learning, assessment, and management. OBE recognizes the diversity of students. It must create learning opportunities by using multiple instructional strategies and providing adequate time and assistance so all students can reach their maximum potential regardless of their learning pace and learning styles. One other important component of OBE is the assessment, which must be constructively aligned with the learning outcome and teaching activities. It is a component of OBE that has been identified as being the one for which they need the most help when adopting OBE. This is explicit in the OBE training need assessment for King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi. We found that through 140 questionnaires sent to the program chairman (undergraduate and graduate levels) and 11 focus groups of executives at each college within the university, all of the returned questionnaires (except 1 program) and all of the focus groups indicated the need for help in assessment in various forms. The most prominent one mentioned was the assessment of soft skills. Like the instructional strategies, assessments should be conducted with various strategies to cover all dimensions of the outcome including knowledge, skills and attitude, and also to cover several purposes: diagnostic, formative, and summative. Varieties of assessment methods must also be used to take into account learning, as well as the personal and cultural diversity of students. In OBE, criterion referenced assessment is encouraged (Pang, Ho, & Man, 2007). The advantage of using this type of scoring scheme is that the performance of one student will not affect the grade of other students. This enables collaboration between students rather than competition.

3

Transnational Perspective of Outcome-Based Education

One of the very interesting aspects of OBE in terms of a transnational perspective is that it facilitates mobility and allows for graduates that are both

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inbound and outbound. With the principle of OBE, inbound international students have clear information of what they can expect from the program. Exchange students can transfer the credits from classes they took abroad back to their home institute if the learning outcomes of the two classes are matched. Graduates from one country can work in another country as long as the outcomes of the program fulfill the academic requirement in that country. Outcome-based education (OBE) is one of the educational strategies that has been exercised as an educational reform in many countries. Some of the early adopters are Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA, and South Africa (Pang et al., 2007). 3.1 Outcome-Based Education in Specific Discipline OBE is also prominent in some specific disciplines. Medical schools are among institutes where OBE is widely adopted as reflected in Harden’s review of the progress of OBE in Medical School (Harden, 2002, 2007). In the field of engineering, the Washington Accord (WA) is a reflection of the first international effort to drive OBE among its international members (Ismail et al., 2007). It is an agreement between the bodies responsible for accrediting professional engineering degree programs in its signatory countries to recognize the engineering education programs accredited by each other. This means that all graduates from the accredited programs are considered to be competent of entering into engineering practices in all countries with signatory status (Ismail et al., 2007). The WA was first signed in 1989 with the signatory members being Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Since 1989, there have been 11 new signatory members (Hong Kong, China, Taipei, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Turkey) and 6 provisional members (Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, and the Philippines) (International Engineering Alliance). Two other similar accords, namely the Sydney Accord (International Engineering Alliance) and the Dublin Accord (International Engineering Alliance), were signed in 2001 and 2002 for engineering technologists and engineering technicians, respectively. In 2004, the Graduate Attributes for all 3 accords were developed. It reflects attributes expected from graduates of the accredited program, which can be used for developing outcome-based curricula for engineering or related fields (International Engineering Alliance, 2013). 3.2 Outcome-Based Education in ASEAN OBE is promoted within the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) through two strategies. One is through the establishment of the national

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qualification framework and the mandate from the agency overseeing higher educational institutes. The other strategy is through a quality assurance or accreditation system. Unlike the first strategy that is mostly at the national level, the latter strategy can be national, regional or international. The Washington Accord, as mentioned earlier, is an example of the mechanism at an international level. Currently there are three countries that have accreditation bodies that are members of the Washington Accord. Singapore and Malaysia have a signatory status, while the Philippines has a provisional status. AUN-QA is another quality assurance mechanism that is for the South East Asian Region. There is also a national quality assurance system for each country as well. The ASEAN University Network (AUN) is an agency that encourages and promotes higher education cooperation and development to enhance regional integration in achieving global standards (ASEAN University Network). One area that AUN works on is AUN-QA (ASEAN University Network – Quality Assurance). It developed guidelines for AUN-QA Assessment at the program level. The guidelines employ the principles of OBE. By the end of 2016, it was projected that 223 programs in eight ASEAN countries will be assessed, which means that at least 223 programs across various disciplines are seriously practicing OBE. Out of the first 138 programs that have already been assessed, science was the most dominant discipline, followed by a similar number for engineering and social science, and the least being humanities and others (Gajaseni, 2016). Out of the first 107 programs that have already been assessed during 2007–2014, they were from eight ASEAN countries. Indonesia had the greatest number of programs being assessed (45), then Vietnam (30) and the Philippines (19). The rest had five or less (Bin). However, this may not necessarily be proportional to the amount of OBE actually being practiced. It was believed that OBE is practiced in most if not all ASEAN countries to various extents. Singapore most likely has OBE at least in an engineering program based on its signatory status in the Washington Accord. An internet search returned no evidence of the implementation of OBE in Brunei Darussalam. The other eight, which include ASEAN-4 (the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand) and CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam), have programs that have been assessed by AUN-QA. The details of OBE of the ASEAN-4, which is a group based on their similarity in economical and developmental status, are presented here. 3.3 Indonesia The Indonesian tertiary education sector has grown very fast in terms of the budget and the number of students enrolled. Its budget doubled in 2012

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compared to that of 2008 (Bank, 2015). In 2004, the Indonesian Ministry of National Education (the name at that time) enforced the competency-based curriculum (CBC) in all levels of education. Its CBC is rooted from 4 pillars from the UNESCO Concept, which is based on learning culture (learning to know, learning to do, learning to be and learning to live together) (Ismail et al., 2007). However, the research on Indonesian education still shows that the actual practice is still content-based (Ismail et al., 2007), and the program is still out of sync with industry demand, which results in graduates lacking relevant knowledge and necessary skills (Bank, 2015). The Indonesian Qualification Framework (IQF) was established along with learning outcomes and job-specific competence for each of the nine levels. The Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture has referenced the existing learning outcomes from available programs to the IQF. The Ministry believed that quality assurance is essential for the successful incorporation of the IQF into higher education (UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, 2015). 3.4 Malaysia OBE in Malaysia started in February of 2005 and was pioneered by the engineering program by the head of the Engineering Accreditation Council, which then held a provisional status membership in the Washington Accord (Ismail et al., 2007). The nationwide implementation followed in June of 2007 (Alias & Bhkari, 2007). The main agency responsible for the implementation was the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA), which is a mergence of the National Accreditation Board and the Quality Assurance Division. The MQA was tasked to implement the Malaysian Qualification Framework (MQF) and OBE to ensure its practice of accreditation meets international accord (Kaliannan & Chandran, 2012). The aim of implementing OBE is to improve the quality of Malaysia’s human capital as a part of the effort to achieve its vision 2020 (Karim & Yin, 2013). Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad called for the nation “to achieve a self-sufficient industrialized nation by the year 2020, encompass[ing] all aspects of life, from economic prosperity, social well-being, educational world-class, political stability, as well as psychological balance” (Norhisham, Rahman, & Zubir, 2013). Research was conducted to determine the effect of OBE implementation in higher educational institute on student perceptions. The study was carried out at Engineering Faculty of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia after OBE was implemented. It showed that students viewed the course as more purposeful to them as they could understand the responsibility of engineers and better understand the importance of their course. It helped them to be aware of lifelong learning. However, they did not perceive that OBE could positively develop their ability to apply knowledge as it reflected on a neutral response

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on communication skills, in-depth technical competence in engineering, and problem solving skills (Ismail et al., 2007). Similar results were found on lifelong learning when another survey was conducted with 700 Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) students. UPM students also perceived that the learning outcome they attained most was knowledge, and the least was managerial and entrepreneurial skills. In regard to the level of attainment in the learning domain, it was found that their perception varied by discipline. Overall, students achieve an “analysis” level in the cognitive domain, a “mechanism” in the psychomotor domain, and a “valuing” in the affective domain (Mohayidin et al., 2008). There is also a study that ran a meta-analysis of a published paper on the effect of OBE in higher education, and it was found that 60% of OBE implementation only had a small effect, and 10% and 30% had a medium and large effect respectively. 3.5 The Philippines The initiation of OBE started from a mandate for all undergraduate programs in engineering through the recommendation of the Technical Panel for Engineering and Technology, and now most universities in the Philippines have already implemented OBE to various degrees (Borsoto et al., 2014; Laguador & Dotong, 2014). Lyceum of Philippines University, in the city of Batangas, has published three papers about their OBE. Two of the published papers were conducted in the College of Engineering. The first paper was a student survey, and it indicated that the perception of how much OBE elements were implemented are proportional to how students feel about the usefulness of OBE (Borsoto et al., 2014). The second study was a survey of faculty members. It indicated that faculty members had been trained about various elements of OBE, but they did not necessarily practice everything they had been trained for (Laguador & Dotong, 2014). The third paper was conducted with accountancy students. It was found that OBE had a significant influence on student engagement, as students felt the lessons were more interesting and fun, but only to a moderate extent on academic accomplishment. As a result, it had an impact on the students’ ability to apply knowledge and communication; however, they felt that OBE only had a modest amount of influence on what they could learn during discussion and the development of leadership skills (An, 2014). 3.6 Outcome-Based Education in Thailand Thai Higher Education has long employed disciplined-based or input-based education. Up to 2010 this practice was still common practice for most of the programs being offered in Thai Higher Educational Institutes. Disciplinebased education adheres strictly to its own discipline. Input-based education is focused mainly on what the instructor wants to give to students. Either

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discipline- or input-based are generally teacher-centered education. Most of the time, the method of delivering content is lecture-based. The advantage of this model is instructors know the content very well and most of the time are passionate about what they are teaching; therefore, they are ready to deliver the content to students. This approach may have limitations when only one discipline is not sufficient to be competent in certain occupations. Although lecture-based instruction can deliver certain knowledge and be made very interactive, it cannot be used to build skills and attitude for students after the end of the learning experience. OBE was initiated in Thailand when the Office of Higher Education Commission, Ministry of Education, announced the implementation of the Thailand Qualification Framework for Thai Higher Education (TQF) in July of 2009 (Ministry of Education, 2009). The TQF specifies learning outcomes that are general characteristics or attributes of graduates in five domains. The five domains include ethical and moral development, knowledge, cognitive skills, interpersonal skills and responsibility, and analytical and communication skills (Ministry of Education, 2006). The TQF also delegates the Office of Higher Education Commission to develop professional standards or special characteristics according to discipline. Along with learning outcomes, the TQF also encourages continuous quality improvement through the principle of PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) by requiring higher educational institutes to produce series of documents that reflects these principles. The good intention has been lost through the mandate process. The idea of OBE behind the implementation of the TQF and its benefits were lost in communication. At the early time of the mandate, the professional standards or special characteristics were only available for a small number of disciplines, such as mathematics, computer, nursing, logistics, agro-industry, education, biotechnology, hotel and tourism (Boonprasert, 2010). Many faculty members felt the need to strictly comply with the general learning outcome, specified in the TQF, which did not necessarily fit their disciplines (Luangaramsri, 2010). The series of documents that were required as a part of the TQF at various times in the academic year were perceived as an added burden (Luangaramsri, 2010) and no real value was created from those documents. The initiation of the TQF brought about more document work and very little adjustment in teaching and learning that would lead to the achievement of the learning outcome. However, it allows people to understand the process of PDCA in education and it introduces the idea of a learning outcome. 3.7 Case Study at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), a science and technology research university, has realized the benefit of OBE and has

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initiated KMUTT 3.0, which later became the KMUTT educational reform. The aim is to fully benefit from OBE in order to produce graduates of high quality according to the KMUTT Student Qualification Framework. The teaching and learning is conducted under the concept of continuous improvement with the PDCA framework of various levels ranging from course, program and institution (Fig. 6.1). This requires changes in the curriculum design process, in how teaching and learning is conducted, and in how students are assessed.

figure 6.1 Framework of OBE at KMUTT

3.7.1 Curriculum Design Process Traditionally, many curricula are designed based on the expertise of faculty members, as well as what they believe to be important in their field. OBE has significantly changed how curriculum design is conducted because OBE uses backward design principles. It starts with determining what students must be able to do at the time when they graduate from the program. This is called a “program learning outcome” (PLO), and it is defined based on program objectives (derived from the university mission) and input from stakeholders, which may include, but is not limited to, potential employers, professional organizations, and alumni. Since one of the goals for KMUTT education is to produce graduates that are social change agents with the guide of the KMUTT student qualification framework (KMUTT QF) (Fig. 6.2), it is important to ensure that the PLO is related to the competence specified in the framework. KMUTT QF was developed based on 21st century skills and future employability skills together with input from KMUTT faculty members, education experts, and the perspective of business leaders. It consists of eight domains: knowledge,

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professional skills, thinking skills, learning skills, management skills, communication skills, leadership and KMUTT’s citizenship (responsibility, adaptability and humanization). Within each domain, competences were specified except for knowledge and professional skills, which are left for each program to decide their own based on their particular discipline. At least one competence in the list is associated with the PLO.

figure 6.2 King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) students qualification

Once PLOs have been set, two basic questions of OBE have been answered: what do you want students to learn, and why do you want them to learn that. Courses and activities can now be designed backwardly to ensure the achievement of the PLO. Each course and activity will have its own set of learning outcomes. These may sometimes be called the course learning outcome, the intended learning outcome, or the course intended learning outcome. Regardless of what they are called, it is important that they are aligned with the PLO and the competence the course or activities are intended to serve. One critical thing for OBE curriculum design is that every element of the curriculum should be meaningful to the achievement of the PLO. In the mapping between the PLO and the course, intra-curricular activities and extracurricular activities become very useful. This must take into consideration the competence from the KMUTT QF that is associated with each PLO. Mapping of the three elements can be done in a simple spreadsheet. However, further analysis with the spreadsheet could be challenging.

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The software being developed at the Learning Institute, what KMUTT calls “Curriculum Dashboard,” is a technology that helps visualize the relationship between these three elements. The software analyzes information after the curriculum has been designed and creates a graphical representation that provides insight into the relationship between the elements. Some of the features are presented in Fig. 6.3. The top picture shows PLOs that one of the competences being highlighted is linked to and the course that contributes to that particular competence. The lower left picture shows the number of courses in which the selected competence is developed over the five-year program. The lower right picture shows the competence being developed for a particular program (highlighted in blue). The greater intensity of highlight indicates that the competence occurs in many courses.

figure 6.3 Graphic presentation of the relationship between the PLO, competence from the KMUTT QF and courses from the curriculum dashboard software

3.7.2 Teaching, Learning, and Assessment The designing of curriculum is a “planning” stage within the quality improvement cycle PDCA. The “do” and “check” stage involves teaching, learning and assessment, respectively. This answers the last two basic

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questions of OBE: how do you help students to learn, and how will you know what they have learnt? Both the “do” and “check” stages require a great deal of transformation when OBE is adopted. Traditionally, the focus was on content delivery and summative assessment of the content. Lecture was the main method of content delivery; midterm and final examinations was the formal (and many times the only) assessment. With the OBE, the focus is shifted because PLOs and competences consist of three domains: knowledge, skill and attitude. Although lecture-based learning is still somewhat useful, it is mandatory to have other means of learning in order for students to acquire all three domains. Some pedagogical changes have been observed. Lectures have become more interactive to engage students. More formative assessment has been employed to give timely feedback to students while they still have a chance to improve their work. Active learning, which has existed in some programs, has become more popular with a clearer learning outcome that is providing a more meaningful contribution to PLOs. Project-based learning and work-integrated learning will be illustrated here. 3.8 Project-Based Learning Project-based learning (PBL) is a model that organizes learning around projects that involve students in the design, problem-solving, decision making, or investigative activities (Thomas, 2000). This gives students the opportunity to develop both their higher order thinking, soft skills, as well as lifelong learning attributes while working on the project with a theme related to their academic disciplines. In science, technology and engineering disciplines, PBL has been used for a long time as a senior research project. However, in the past 10–15 years, we have seen more use of PBL with freshmen, sophomores and juniors in all kinds of disciplines. Although PBL has been defined, the way to conduct PBL can vary significantly. One of the models illustrated here is the model for a new invention or creating innovation. This model has been implemented in the Science-based Technology School (TVET) and in STEM projects for high school. It consists of five steps: 1 Explore ideas: This step stimulates creative thinking in finding possibilities according to the theme given to students. 2 Review possibilities: Knowledge and theory in the discipline/course is applied to review ideas obtained from step 1. 3 Select the topic that clicks: The selection of ideas is based on the reviews of several ideas in various areas to narrow down what students are going to work on. This uses the process of decision-making that may consist of, but not limited to, logical thinking and systematic thinking. If working in teams,

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debating can increase conflict management and diversity competence. 4 Prototype & test: The idea being selected is then built into a working prototype, which is further used for testing to prove its intended function. Further modification may be done after the test result is obtained to make it function more properly. This step requires professional skills, planning skills, as well as teamwork. 5 Present and persuade: This step consists of two important elements: extraction of useful information for the target audience and conveyance of the information effectively. This similar model has been used in the Packaging Development Process course. Packaging development in the real sector is usually conducted by a multidisciplinary team, which sometimes leads to a multicultural team as well. Therefore, this project was conducted as a group project in which each student had their own role according to their interest. The roles included designer, technical person, marketing person, and manager. However, the process for PBL in this course focused more on the packaging development process as follows: 1 Identification of opportunity for packaging improvement of existing products in the market. This step enables students to be more observant and think critically about how packaging is used. Since we want all students to have these skills, we assigned this as an individual task. 2 Selection of packaging opportunity to work on. From this step on, the project becomes a team assignment where everyone presents their own result from step 1 to the group, and the group then chooses one topic to work on. 3 Brainstorming for solution of the selected topic. This requires students to use their creative thinking skill as well as practice brainstorming techniques they have previously learned. 4 Selection of idea. Decision table is used as a mean to select the package. Students have to come up with multiple criteria from technical aspects, such as package production and filling process, marketing aspects, user experience, and environmental aspects. This requires students to apply their packaging knowledge as well as critical thinking to select the solution. 5 Refining and prototyping. The selected solution is then worked on in detail to further refine the concept and make a prototype. In this step, students develop skills to apply knowledge as well as psychomotor skills and creative thinking while making the prototype. 6 Testing the prototype. The prototype is tested to determine if the refined concept works properly to improve the package. The test result is used to modify the refined concept. This step allows students to plan (experimental design and timeline) and manage their experiment so that

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it goes as planned. Students also build the competence in data analysis and interpretation. 7 Presentation and writing the report. The entire project is presented to the class in the form of an oral presentation, and the report is written without any given format. Students will have to extract important information in order to do the oral presentation within a given time while the details of the project can be explained. This step allows students to refine their writing and verbal communication skills. This course is designed to be a capstone of the Packaging Program at KMUTT. PBL has been a part of this course since it was offered for the first time in 2010. Initially students started the project after a few weeks into the class, and it ran parallel to the lecture component of the course until almost the end of the semester, leaving only the last couple weeks for students to finish up the work and prepare for the presentations. It, however, became apparent that there was not enough time to focus on the project and give feedback. From this experience, the course was redefined. We analyzed the content of the course and reduced the number of lectures down so that all of the lectures finished during the first half of the semester. The project started on the second week of the semester but only steps 1 and 2 were intended to be completed during the first half the semester where the lecture was still going on. The part of the project that requires more time was conducted during the second half of the semester. The main benefit to this is that we can incorporate more consultation sessions with instructors. This improved the opportunity for students to receive formative feedback throughout their project, and the instructor also used it as a mechanism to push students to do slightly more to improve their work. The reduction in the number of lectures also allowed time to include informal class presentations where peer feedback was incorporated along with these presentations. It was viewed that this benefited both the giver and the receiver of feedback. Giving feedback allows students to think critically about others’ work as well as try to communicate the negative feedback in a friendly way. Receiving feedback from peers not only gives more ideas for the project but also helps students learn to accept others’ viewpoint even when it is different from their own. Peer feedback can take a lot of time, and some students are too shy to give straightforward feedback. Technology was brought in to help solve these problems. A simple google form can be used to collect feedback during the presentation. This requires some data management before sending the feedback back to the presenter. There is also an online peer assessment

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system that has been developed at the Learning Institute, KMUTT. This can be configured to send peer feedback to students directly. The program also allows students to input their own evaluation criteria (Suwannatat, Patthamathamakul, Teeravarunyou, & Tanprasert, 2016). The system is helpful in a large class especially for the PBL where there is a great deal of flexibility in nature, such as packaging development or product design.

4

Work Integrated Learning

Work integrated learning (WIL) is another learning approach that is widely used across disciplines in Thailand now. It aims at connecting theory and practice in the real sector, as well as developing employability skills for students. This is done through various programs such as apprenticeship, cooperative education, and practice school. Apprenticeship is a form of WIL that has been offered to students for a long time. Many programs at KMUTT still offer an apprenticeship, especially through summer semester when students are in a placement for at least eight weeks. This is usually a required element of the curricula. Some offer the apprenticeship as the only WIL program, and many offer it in combination with cooperative education. Cooperative education in KMUTT is the work in the real sector that covers a component of research or development to solve industrial problems. It usually takes at least one regular semester (16–17 weeks). Many programs offer it as an option, and some have it as a required component in their curriculum. Students enrolled in cooperative education are viewed as employees at the placement. However, industrial placements that offer work to students can choose to pay or not to pay them. The other difference from apprenticeship is the increased involvement of faculty members. In cooperative education, the involvement of instructors includes site visits and a consultation for students’ projects. Some of the programs have site directors who closely supervise students in the program for the entire period that students are in the placement. 4.1

A Case Study: Printing and Packaging Technology Program at KMUTT This program requires students to enroll for both an apprenticeship and cooperative education. The apprenticeship aims for students to understand the work process in the real sector of printing and packaging so they have a good understanding of the industry. This is offered in the summer semester of their junior year. The cooperative education is offered in the first semester of their senior year. This was offered before the last semester so that students have sufficient knowledge to work and contribute to the project at the placement.

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Also, students have the opportunity to further develop their knowledge or skills they feel they lack when they return to school for the last semester of their senior year. Practice school is another model of WIL in graduate school. KMUTT has adopted Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s work integrated learning concept into the local industrial setting. Currently KMUTT has five practice schools: the Food Engineering Practice School (FEPS), the Chemical Engineering Practice School (ChEPS), the Biotech Practice School (BiPS), Biotechnopreneur (B-TEP) and the Starch Engineering and Process Optimization Program (SEPO). In these programs, graduate students will spend a semester in the industry. 4.2 A Case Study: ChEPS at KMUTT Students in ChEPS will have one year of coursework. Then, during their second year, they are placed in the industry for one semester and do research for another semester. During the semester-long industrial placement, a KMUTT ChEPS faculty member serves as a site director who is responsible for ensuring the academic value of proposed work, that the project’s goals are attainable and the work is carried out as planned (Ku, Thonglek, & Bhumiratana, 2005). The survey with the ChEPS stakeholders (students, institution, placement, and employer) indicated that the program was a great success. However, the assessment of learning development should be carried out during the placement (Thonglek, Ku, Kavanagh, & Howes, 2013) because the placement context (policy and mentor’s attitude) can affect the students’ attainment of the learning outcomes (Thonglek, Howes, & Kavanagh, 2011). Having the formative assessment will help detect the problem early, allowing time to make any necessary adjustments to ensure that students attain the intended learning outcome.

5

Conclusion

Several challenges, such as demographic changes, workforce requirements, economic trends, and globalization, require transformation of higher education to better serve society. Thailand, as well as other ASEAN countries, has adopted outcome-based education as a path to transform higher education. This partly will help with the student and workforce mobility issue in ASEAN as well. Outcome-based education requires higher educational institutes to change curriculum design, teaching and learning, as well as assessment, or at least forces the institutes to rethink the current practice so that it focuses on learning outcomes.

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References Alias, A., & Bhkari, N. M. (2007). A model of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) for engineering education. Gading Business and Management Journal, 11(2), 71–87. An, I. L. (2014). Impact of outcome-based education instruction to accountancy students in an Asian University. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Arts and Science, 1(5), 48–52. ASEAN University Network. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.aun-sec.org Bank, OECD/Asian Development. (2015). Education in Indonesia: Rising to the challenge. Paris: OECD. Bin, J. O. C. (2015). Teaching and learning strategy: View from AUN-QA assessment. Paper presented at the ASEAN Education Summit: Innovative Teaching and Learning for the 21st Century, Bangkok. Boonprasert, M. (2010, October 21–23). Development of desirable characteristics of the Thai university graduates. Paper presented at the 14th UNESCO-APEID International Conference on Education for Human Resource Development, Bangkok. Borsoto, L. D., Lescano, J. D., Maquimot, N. I., Santorce, M. J. N., Simbulan, A. F., & Pagcaliwagan, A. M. (2014). Status of implementation and usefulness of outcomebased education in the engineering department of an Asian University. International Joural of Multidisciplinary Academic Research, 2(4), 14–25. Chandrama, A. (2003, November). Outcome-Based Education (OBE): A new paradigm for learning. Triannual Newsletter, p. 7. Gajaseni, N. (2016). AUN-QA development for enhancing higher education quality in ASEAN. Paper presented at the International Conference of ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA), Balai Sidang Universitas Indonesia, West Java. Harden, R. M. (1999). AMEE guide no. 14: Outcome-based education: Part 1-an introduction to outcome-based education. Medical Teacher, 21(1), 7–14. doi:10.1080/01421599979969 Harden, R. M. (2002). Development in outcome-based education. Medical Teacher, 24(2), 117–120. Harden, R. M. (2007). Outcome-based education: The future is today. Medical Teacher, 29, 625–629. International Engineering Alliance. (2018). The Dublin Accord. Retrieved from http://www.ieagreements.org/accords/dublin/ International Engineering Alliance. (2018). The Sydney Accord. Retrieved from http://www.ieagreements.org/accords/sydney/ International Engineering Alliance. (2018). The Washington Accord. Retrieved from http://www.ieagreements.org/accords/washington/ International Engineering Alliance. (2013). Graduate attributes and professional competencies. Retrieved from http://www.ieagreements.org/IEA-Grad-Attr-ProfCompetencies.pdf

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Ismail, M., Hunger, A., Morandi, C., Sari, R. F., Russly, S. A., Saklbergs, I., Muchtar, A., Mohamed, N. A., & Menozzi, R. (2007). Initiating learning otucome with EUASEAN credit transfer system network curriculum. Paper presented at the ASAIHL Conference 2007 on Undergradate Education Significance, Curriculum Design, and Quality Assurance, Lingnan University, Hong Kong. Kaliannan, M., & Chandran, S. D. (2012). Empowering students through outcomebased education. Research in Education, 87, 50–63. Karim, N. A. A., & Yin, K. Y. (2013). Outcome-based education: An approach for teaching and learning development. Journal of Research, Policy & Practice of Teachers & Teacher Education, 3(1), 26–35. Kawashima, T. (2008). Outcome-based approach in Japanese higher education: Emerging concerns and challenges. Kobe University Repository, 17, 31–42. Killen, R. (2013). Effective teaching strategies: Lessons from research and practice (6th ed.). South Melbourne: Cengage Learning Australia. Ku, H. M., Thonglek, S., & Bhumiratana, S. (2005, September 26–29). A graduate-level chemical engineering practice model in Thailand. Paper presented at the 4th AsiaPacific Forum on Engineering and Technology Education, Bangkok. Laguador, J. M., & Dotong, C. I. (2014). Knowledge versus practice on the outcomesbased education implementation of the engineering faculty members in LPU. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 3(1), 63–74. Luangaramsri, P. (2010). Thailand qualification framework & crisis of Thai university. Retrieved from http://sasa.in.th/tqf/tqf-and-thai-higher-education-crisis Manpower Group. (2015). 2015 talent shortage survey. Retrieved from http://www.manpowergroup.com/wps/wcm/connect/db23c560-08b6-485f-9bf6f5f38a43c76a/2015_Talent_Shortage_Survey_US-lo_res.pdf?MOD=AJPERES Ministry of Education. (2006). National qualification framework for higher education in Thailand: Implementation handbook. Retrieved from http://www.mua.go.th/users/ tqf-hed/news/FilesNews/FilesNews8/NQF-HEd.pdf Ministry of Education. (2009). Notification of the Ministry of Education on Thailand Qualification Framework for Thai Higher Education B.E. 2552. Paris: Ministry of Education. Mohayidin, M. G., Suandi, T., Mustapha, G., Konting, M. M., Kamanruddin, N., Man, N. A., Adam, A., & Abdullah, S. N. (2008). Implementation of outcome-based education in Universiti Putra Malaysia: A focus on students’ learning outcomes. International Education Studies, 1(4), 147–160. Norhisham, Q., Rahman, Y., & Zubir, S. S. (2013). Unveiling the potential of urban space in Putrajaya. In S. S. Zubir & C. A. Brebbia (Eds.), To achieve a self-sufficient industrialized nation by the year 2020, encompasses all aspects of life, from economic prosperity, social well-being, educational worldclass, political stability, as well as psychological balance (pp. 57–68). Ashurst: WIT Press.

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Pang, M., Ho, M., & Man, R. (2007). The impact of outcome-based teaching and learning: A case study in Hong Kong (China). Paper presented at the 2007 Oxford Business & Economics Conference, Oxford. Skill Power Service Co. Ltd. (Manpower Group). (2016). Industry 4.0. Retrieved from http://lmi.doe.go.th/index.php/research/525-research48: Spady, W. G. (1994). What does outcome-based education really mean? Outcomebased education: Critical issues and answers (pp. 1–21). Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators. Suwannatat, P., Patthamathamakul, C., Teeravarunyou, S., & Tanprasert, K. (2016). Design of an online peer assessment system for a large classroom using student-defined criteria. Paper presented at the International conference on Learning Innovation in Science and Technology (ICLIST 2016), Pattaya, Thailand. Thomas, J. W. (2000). A review of research on project-based learning. Retrieved from http://www.bie.org/images/uploads/general/9d06758fd346969cb63653d00dca5 5c0.pdf Thonglek, S., Howes, T., & Kavanagh, L. (2011, December 5–7). Work integrated learning: A realistic evaluation of KMUTT’s chemical engineering practice school. Paper presented at the 2011 AAEE Conference, Western Australia. Thonglek, S., Ku, H.-M., Kavanagh, L., & Howes, T. (2013, December 8–11). Stakeholders’ perspectives of a work-integrated learning program: The chemical engineering practice school. Paper presented at the 2013 AAEE Conference, Bangkok. Tremblay, K., Lalancete, D., & Roseveare, D. (2012). Assessment of higher education learning outcome: Feasibility study report: Volume 1 design and implementation. Paris: OECD Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/edu/skills-beyond-school/ AHELOFSReportVolume1.pdf UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. (2015). Global inventory of regional and national qualification frameworks. Retrieved from http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/ files/2213_en_vol2.pdf Tevanaruemitkul, P. (2015). Outcome-based education with student-centered and project-based learning. Paper presented at the Active-based Learning: What, Why and How?, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai. Retrieved from http://www.eqd.cmu.ac.th/Innovation/media/2558/2558_04_01-ActiveBasedLearning/ OutcomebasedEducation.pdf

Krittika Tanprasert King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

Part 3 Transnational European Perspectives

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chapter 7

Academic Professionalization and Transnationalization – Comparative Studies in Adult and Lifelong Learning (COMPALL) Sabine Schmidt-Lauff, Franziska Semrau and Regina Egetenmeyer

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Introduction

To strengthen academic professionalization, the European Union offers specific mobility and curriculum programs, the so-called ‘ERASMUS+’ program. Erasmus+ is the EU’s program to support education, training, youth, and sport in Europe. Its €14.7 billion budget will provide opportunities for over 4 million Europeans to study, train, gain experience, and volunteer abroad. In the education sector, the idea of ERASMUS+ is to build and support strategic partnerships between European universities to create internationally and even transnationally oriented academic pathways towards professionalization in the context of lifelong learning. Although the focus of curricula (in high schools and universities), study programs, and academic professionalization is primarily on national frameworks, European policy has a strong influence on the national level, local initiatives, and institutional programs. What is more, policy making in Europe is not only referred to and reproduced in European discourses and national reactions, but, as part of the “increasingly global endorsement of a specific perception of what education should be” (Moutsios, 2010, p. 122), also in transnational perspectives. To point out European perspectives of innovative teaching and learning, this chapter summarizes experiences from the ongoing ERASMUS+ Strategic Partnership COMPALL (Comparative Studies in Adult and Lifelong Learning). After referring to European strategies for lifelong learning and higher education systems (1), the challenge of transnational influence in a curriculum is elaborated by the COMPALL project (2). The innovative approach of a joint module as a didactic concept for a Winter School (3) is reflected by students’ insights and experiences (4).

© koninklijke brill nv, leideN, 2018 | DOI 10.1163/9789004366077_007

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European Strategies for Lifelong Learning and Higher Education

Worldwide, “professionalization and professionalism in the context of lifelong learning are marked by specific historical developments, actors, activities, institutions and curricula” (Egetenmeyer, Schmidt-Lauff, & Boffo, 2017, p. 10). Study programs address European patterns with transnational facets, which are established by frameworks or given key messages in European policy documents about lifelong learning in general and about higher education in particular. Although the European Union has no authority to harmonize the education systems of its member states (Egetenmeyer, 2016), European policies have a strong influence on national, regional, and local education and higher education. Two important European documents can be mentioned here: a The Agenda for the Modernization of Europe’s Higher Education Systems (European Commission, 2011, p. 5) defines “key areas”: In order to maximize the contribution of Europe’s higher education systems to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, reforms are needed in key areas: To increase the quantity of higher education graduates at all levels; to enhance the quality and relevance of human capital development in higher education; to create effective governance and funding mechanisms in support of excellence; and to strengthen the knowledge triangle between education, research and business. Moreover, the international mobility of students, researchers and staff, as well as the growing internationalization of higher education, have a strong impact on quality and affect each of these key areas (p. 5). b Referring to the Bologna Process in 1999, the European Commission defines eight levels of competence in the European Qualification Framework (EQF; European Commission, n.d.). This EQF “aims to provide more transparency and mobility in undergraduate and postgraduate studies, in their degree programmes and for their future work base as adult educators, implies specific competencies of trainers in Europe” (Boffo et al., 2015, p. 112). When referring to other policy documents about lifelong learning and adult education, “autonomous learning,” or rather “autonomous learners,” are focused (cf. “innovative teaching and learning methods,” “competitiveness,” “sustainability,” etc.). The Strategic Partnership Comparative Studies in Adult and Lifelong Learning (COMPALL)1 is a concrete example in the academic field of “education.” It is financed by the ERASMUS+ Program “Key Action 2: Cooperation for Innovation and the Exchange of Good Practices – Strategic Partnerships for higher education.” We can look back on more than five years of successful cooperation,

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providing best practice examples to reflect on opportunities and challenges. To explain these strategic partnerships, their work, and COMPALL as an example of a European project, the following chapter describes the partnership’s main priorities, objectives, and curriculum. Each year, a Winter School serves as the “heart” of the joint module and as an intensive program, bringing all partners and MA/PhD students together. Some ideas about the effectiveness of the unique COMPALL structure and its study format (joint module) may help illustrate the opportunities and limitations of innovation in higher education.

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A Strategic Partnership for Comparative Studies in Adult and Lifelong Learning (COMPALL): Main Priorities and Objectives

The COMPALL Strategic Partnership includes seven European partner universities: Julius Maximilians Universität Würzburg (Germany – Coordination), Università degli Studie di Firence (Italy), Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal), Università degli Studie di Padova (Italy), Pécsi Tudományegyetem (Hungary), Aarhus Universitet (Denmark), and Helmut Schmidt Universität (Germany). In addition to these strategic partners, there has been developed a network with associate partners from all over the world (e.g., India, Nigeria, Palestine, Serbia), a fact that underlines the transnational perspective and the willingness to work together. All partners support the intensive phase during the Winter School through diverse comparative groups, working on changing contents related to key transnational questions (e.g., market crisis and employability; the accelerating erosion of structure and lifelong learning practices; professional identity in a global modern world) with respect to national and local specialties (monitoring, continuing education providers, target groups, etc.; COMPALL, n.d.). All seven strategic partners have previous experiences with mobility activities related to teaching and learning in higher education, for example by providing previous European ERASMUS Intensive Programs (SchmidtLauff, 2003). They support the different areas relevant for COMPALL (e.g. comparative research, international studies, graduate schools, European and international collaboration activities) in a collaborative way (face-to-face and online meetings; discussion and tandem partnerships in several work packages, peer feedback, etc.). There are two important main priorities for COMPALL as a collaborative effort to promote innovation and the exchange of good practices by means of a strategic European partnership in higher education: (a) strengthening educational quality through mobility and cross-border cooperation, and (b) strengthening international and transnational perspectives in higher

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education and supporting the (academic) training paths of prospective educators (professionalization). 2.1

Strengthening Educational Quality through Mobility and Cross-Border Cooperation By developing a joint module featuring integrated short-term mobility in an annual Winter School, the strategic partnership intends to raise student mobility in study programs related to adult and lifelong learning. The ERASMUS2 mobility statistics show that European students in education have the lowest mobility rate of all subjects, and mobility is likely to be even lower among students in adult and lifelong learning (European Union, 2015). There are several reasons for this: First, issues in adult and lifelong learning are very specific to each country. Furthermore, it has only been in recent years that more initiatives for internationalization have emerged in the field. Likewise, studying in English is a very rare phenomenon in adult and lifelong learning programs in German high schools or universities. One could speak about a missing tradition of internationalization in this context (Schmidt-Lauff & Egetenmeyer, 2015). At the same time, adult and lifelong learning practice calls for graduates with international competences. Adult and lifelong learning practice is going to become more and more international due to the internationalization of society, the export of continuing education services, and the migration driven by the European crisis and the international refugee situation. It is essential, therefore, that university programs in adult and lifelong learning respond to this situation by preparing their students for the complexity of internationalization in our modernity. Thereby, the national approach towards adult and lifelong learning will be linked to the transnational perspective – an urgently needed but still missing link in adult and lifelong learning programs. 2.2

Putting Lifelong Learning into Practice Calls for Transnational Competencies To make lifelong learning a reality, policy papers mention wide-ranging and open topics such as social inclusion or social cohesion, active citizenship, employment, and basic skills. The European Union addresses these issues with regard to adult learning and adult education in its “Memorandum on Lifelong Learning” (European Union, 2000) and the “Council Resolution on a renewed European Agenda for Adult Learning” (European Union, 2011). Raising participation is an overall challenge. Demographic change is included in both documents as “demographic ageing.” And, during the economic and financial crisis in the early 2000s, skills development and the ability to adapt to changes in the labor market is stressed.

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Today, we look forward to a re-renewed agenda, one that addresses global problems such as sustainable development, migration, war, and people in vulnerable situations. Education as a basic human right and public good becomes important again: “By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development” (SDGs Goal 4.7, 2015). 2.3

Strengthening International and Transnational Perspectives in Education and Supporting the (Academic) Training Paths of Prospective Educators The “joint module” – created, reviewed, and developed further as the core of the COMPALL Strategic Partnership – offers a new approach to strengthening the education paths of prospective educators. By integrating master’s and doctoral students, the joint study program respects personalized study pathways (see below Section 2.4). The integration of both master’s and doctoral students in higher education is highly innovative. Normally, European study programs separate these two groups, pointing out different levels of skills, knowledge, and methodological experience. Our experiences in recent years show the constructive and productive aspects of having master’s and doctoral students work side-by-side in integrative groups of different “student generations” at their home universities (see also Section 4). Furthermore, the joint module creates links between local, national, European, and global developments in adult and lifelong learning. As these competences can be considered essential in the face of current developments, the joint module helps prepare future educators for a multicultural society. Close ties to providers of adult and lifelong learning (e.g., as field visits to providers of adult learning such as German Volkshochschulen, sometimes translated as “folk high schools”) and an ongoing dialogue with stakeholders are deeply integrated in the module. The module pursues additional priorities, albeit to a lesser extent, with regard to innovation in teaching and learning. To that end, the joint module is structured in a way that students in adult and lifelong learning are introduced to self-directed learning methods (supported by online tutorials and the COMPALL platform, for example). They are guided to study in English, read English literature, and write and present transnational essays in English – something they are normally not exposed to. As a result, their professional English language skills can improve.

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Furthermore, all information and additional products are available in Open Educational Resources.3 Teaching in the joint module integrates information and communications technology, supported by an online platform. Here, all important information, literature, online tutorials, study materials, addresses, and contacts are available (mostly open access; some materials are for Winter School participants only). Additional network links (LinkedIn as social media) are available, and interactive (chat) rooms and forums are open for the strategic partners (COMPALL team), all Winter School moderators, and their comparative groups. By having master’s and doctoral students study together (normally considered impossible), we increase the participation rate and support networks of doctoral graduates. Moreover, the joint module addresses the need for providing graduates in adult and lifelong learning with intercultural employability skills, which are more and more important in a global world and a transnational labor market (Egetenmeyer, 2016). 2.4 Supporting Innovative Academic Professionalization With the COMPALL Strategic Partnership, the consortium pioneers a completely new approach by developing a joint study module to be integrated into the master’s and PhD curricula of all partner universities. By being integrated into diverse university curricula within the partner universities of the strategic partnership, it supports European transparency and recognition tools. To that end, the partners create a didactic concept for a blended-learning module featuring local preparation tutorials, supervised transnational essays, a joint intensive phase (two-week Winter School every year), a professional online network (e.g., using LinkedIn), and, as an additional option, supervised preparation for PhD students writing a comparative and reviewed research paper (book publications about comparative perspectives from the Winter School: Egetenmeyer, 2016; Egetenmeyer, Schmidt-Lauff, & Boffo, 2017). The strategic partnership’s approach of integrating an international joint module into local curricula is a new one in the world of adult and lifelong learning programs at European universities. So far, all joint approaches focused on curricula with mainly transnational topics. None of them created systematic links between inter- and transnational issues in adult and lifelong learning, and national and local issues. Most programs with a mainly inter- and transnational focus were closed in recent years (Egetenmeyer, 2016). One reason could be the employment market in adult and lifelong learning, which is mainly local and national in nature. International dimensions have to be linked to this situation. Another new approach is a joint offering featuring personalized learning paths (see the need for this identified in the Agenda for the Modernisation of Europe’s Higher Education Systems) for master’s and doctoral students. During

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the first (explorative) two Winter Schools (2013, 2014), the consortium realized that both master’s and doctoral students showed strong interest in studying this topic, and a joint intensive phase was experienced as very valuable by participants and lecturers alike. The joint module gives master’s students in disciplines with low PhD rates the opportunity to observe academic role models, while PhD students get a chance to explore international topics and develop their comparative analytical competences – something they may have missed during their master’s studies. That said, the needs of the two groups are certainly different. That is why a didactic concept has been developed that will allow different, personalized pathways and learning outcomes. (For instance, master’s students will be supported by local tutorials, whereas PhD students will receive the option of writing a comparative research paper with some PhD colleagues from different universities all over the world (they have met as participants of the Winter School and maintain this “collaborative papernetwork” or co-authorship) under the supervision of a senior researcher.) The didactic concept will be guided by a research-based learning approach. But instead of just using analytical comparison as a didactic instrument, the Strategic Partnership goes one step further by translating results into comparative research papers for doctoral students. The doctoral students write the paper together with a fellow under close supervision by an international colleague. They are welcome to work on their own interests and research questions, which arose during the Winter School in discussions and in the comparative group works. The Strategic Partnership also treads new paths in terms of systematically integrating comparative studies in adult and lifelong learning into local curricula. So far, comparative studies are rare in adult and lifelong learning curricula. Furthermore, research on comparative adult and lifelong learning is very limited (Field, Künzel, & Schemmann, 2016). We have to be careful not to overemphasize standardized, longitudinal monitoring systems to generate a comparative data basis (European standardized Adult Education Survey (AES) for national data, global standardized PIAAC – Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies). For acting in an international field of adult and lifelong learning, comparative competences and nuanced knowledge are essential. This becomes more and more important, both for (prospective) professional practitioners and for researchers and the scientific community in Europe and worldwide.

3

Transnational Value and Innovative Approach: A Joint-Module Winter School

COMPALL is designed to develop, through a strategic partnership, a joint module on Comparative Studies in Adult and Lifelong Learning. For that

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purpose, the didactic concept includes a preparatory phase, a two-week intensive phase at the Würzburg campus (Germany), and the possibility for doctoral students and colleagues to publish their findings. This concept is developed and implemented with many variations at all partner universities. Concerning the curricular content of comparative adult and lifelong learning, the joint module will focus on participants’ home countries. Concerning academic competences, it focuses on the development of analytical and comparative competences. International comparative adult education research in general offers a transcultural approach guided by the idea of “analytical comparison” to reveal social-cultural interrelations (Egetenmeyer, 2014, p. 16f.). To focus on home countries and make comparisons at the national level is, of course, a juxtaposition that is “only the prerequisite for comparison” (Charters & Hilton, 1989, p. 3). The next stage attempts to identify similarities and differences between countries. In the third analytical stage of comparison, we seek to understand why differences and similarities occur and “what their significance is for adult education in the countries under examination and in other countries where the finding of the study may have relevance” (ibid.). Reaching this stage of comparative interpretation, elaboration, qualification, and argumentation, is not easy to do, but it is a worthwhile and desirable challenge to work on. Concerning transversal competences, COMPALL focuses on professional language use and the development of professional networking competences. Today’s students of adult education and lifelong learning must “deal with international learning requirements, which concern not only language skills but also the rising number of students who have migrated to European countries seeking refuge from war, terrorism, climate change and economic and social turmoil” (Egetenmeyer, Schmidt-Lauff, & Boffo, 2017, p. 9). This means that professionals will work more and more “in politically internationalized contexts and contexts that affect adult and lifelong education through global phenomena, such as temporal perspectives, individualization, and globalization” (ibid., p. 10). For that purpose, participants of the Winter School will critically analyze lifelong learning strategies in Europe based on social policy models, including an in-depth look at selected European countries. Furthermore, subtopics of lifelong learning will be chosen for an in-depth comparison of the situation in various European countries (research-based learning) during the second week of the Winter School as “comparative group work.” The joint module has the following didactical structure: .

a Joint online sessions to introduce students to the analytical model (preparation phase), b supplementary tutorials at all partner universities,

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c online supervision for preparing transnational essays, d joint intensive phase at the Würzburg campus (Germany) during a twoweek Winter School, e preparation of a comparative research paper (supervised). The Strategic Partnership addresses the need to produce more researchers, as identified in the “Agenda for the Modernisation of Europe’s Higher Education Systems” (European Commission, 2011), by means of a research-based learning mode, a specific composition of the target group, and additional support for doctoral students (training of comparative research methods and the possibility of an international publication). The strategic partnerships build a systematic link between international and national university programs in adult and lifelong learning. Through a structured integration of field visits and discussions with European associations in adult and lifelong learning, the Strategic Partnership supports the systematic integration of stakeholders and employers into university programs. The joint module developed a completely new approach for studying adult and lifelong learning by deeply integrating transnational issues into local and national curricula. Preparatory reading and writing transnational essays during a preparatory phase is followed by an intensive study and learning phase. This intensive phase (two-week study program at the University of Würzburg, Germany) has two parts: Part I (first week) “Lifelong Learning Strategies in Europe” are reflected in international classes (on European educational policy and analyzing models), discussions with international stakeholders in adult education and lifelong learning, field visits (providers of adult and continuing education in Germany), and reflections and role play (bringing together theory and practice observations; Lima, Guimaraes, & Touma, 2016). Part II (second week) “Comparing Lifelong Learning” starts with an introduction to comparative adult education (theory and methodologies), supplemented by various comparative groups (e.g., innovative teaching and learning methods; employability and transitions from higher education to the labor market; OECD policies in lifelong learning and national implementations, etc.). All students from each “comparative group” give a poster presentation to share their comparative study, work, findings, and outcome during the second week. Relations are proposed by the comparative approach of the whole Winter School program, which consists of a deductive, theory-oriented first part, and an

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inductive second part. During the first part, participants get to know educational policy models as a common background, which they use for analyzing, presenting, and discussing developments in their home countries. In that way, participants first gain more general insights into international and European policies and into other countries. They can compare the situation with their home countries and relate this back to the overall policy models. The second part features an inductive approach in that participants work in small international comparative groups

figure 7.1  Structure of the COMPALL project Source: COMPALL-project

on specific issues for which they develop comparative categories, compare the situation in their countries, and try to identify similarities and differences.

4

Students’ Perspectives: Insights into COMPALL Experiences

Insights into the experience, value, and impact of participating in the Winter School from the perspective of master’s and doctoral students are provided by (a) the project external evaluation (Lattke, 2016) and (b) an additional study (interviews), conducted as part of a master’s thesis (Semrau, 2016). Accordingly, the results are based, on the one hand, on information gathered through a concurrent evaluation of the COMPALL project, designed to provide formative information for the development of the joint module through an external evaluation. (Students during the Winter School 2016 were asked in a paper questionnaire and in individual interviews about their assessment of the quality and usefulness of different parts of the joint module, about the competences they enhanced through their participation, and about recommendations for future programs). On the other hand, these findings are

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supplemented and expanded by additional information gathered as part of the abovementioned master’s thesis (interviews). For that study, former German participants of the 2016 Winter School were interviewed again. Seven months after their participation, we asked them about their experiences during the program and the impact of the Winter School on their personal and professional development, from the time of participation until today. The findings suggest that participating in the Winter School opens wider perspectives that are normally not part of regular bachelor’s or master’s studies in Germany. Being exposed to unfamiliar and strange aspects creates room for reflection about “what might be perceived as ‘normal.’” This is more than just analytical – it is an emotional perception of our modern (global) reality. These insights by former Winter School participants prove that this study program provides a framework in which systematic connections between inter-, transnational, and national, as well as local issues can be made. As Egetenmeyer, Schmidt-Lauff, and Boffo (2017, p. 10) point out: “(…) Unique challenges for professionalization in adult education, which in the past was largely a national practice,” lie ahead. And more specifically: “This includes not only micro-level teaching and guidance of adult learning but also the development of a wide range of non-formal and informal learning in different contexts and institutions, as well as on the policy levels that deal with adult education and learning. It is therefore essential to reflect on the mega-, macro-, meso- and micro-levels and their correlations and interdependencies” (ibid., 2017, p. 10). From the perspective of former participants, the links between inter-, transnational, and national or local adult educational issues have, on the one hand, an impact in terms of providing new insights into adult education in countries other than their own. For example, German participants report about guest lectures they heard during the program in which international lecturers presented on teaching methods (micro level) or on their home country’s education system, structure (e.g., laws), and providers (meso and macro levels). All lectures, presentations, or discussions (e.g., with stakeholders) are unique opportunities to get to know something that is otherwise very unlikely to be presented. On the other hand, participants can draw connections between the international level and their own national context, which also provides new insights into their own national educational situation. For instance, German participants report that their view on the German education system was sharpened by presenting and explaining it to other participants (Semrau, 2016, p. 34f.).Whereas doctoral students report that their participation is motivated by a clear interest in enhancing their doctoral thesis and the desire to get in contact with researchers from other countries working on similar issues, master’s students might focus more on the conditions of studying adult education in other countries. The interviewed former participants confirm that the didactic approach of the

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Winter School offers the possibility to pursue such different interests in specific ways (ibid., pp. 51ff.): For instance, it becomes possible for doctoral students to compare research conditions, experiences, and challenges during their scientific collaboration with researchers from other countries, which helps them recognize similarities across national borders. Furthermore, participants value the specific framework of the Winter School, which provides the unique opportunity to pursue their own interests not only by reading international literature but rather by engaging in personal interaction with students and researches from other countries working in the same field (ibid., 2016, p. 59). Moreover, the Winter School creates a space in which the complexity of internationalization and the benefits of working with an international comparative approach can be experienced. Participants place particular emphasis on the international character of the intensive phase in Würzburg, which resulted, in their point of view, from using English as a common language, meeting other participants from countries all over the world and engaging with the contents they contribute, and from the specific didactic structure of the program (ibid., p. 58). These characteristics may sometimes be quite challenging, too. For example, when interviewed about the second part of the Winter School, participants also mention their doubts and uncertainties regarding the extent to which working collectively on international comparisons might be successful (ibid., 2016, p. 64). Finding common categories for comparison is exhausting in some cases. Using a common language (English) that in most cases is not participants’ native language opens up possibilities for interaction but also results in the specific challenge that contents that are easy to present at home have to be translated adequately for an international audience. This is not easy, and acquiring language skills is much more than using a set of words. It means having a shared semantic vocabulary and terminology. Although in some parts complex and taxing, the process of understanding frames has its benefits as well. Curiosity and interest in adult and lifelong learning can be revived by participating in the intensive program (ibid., 2016, p. 63f.). Attending an international study program made participants curious about further opportunities, ongoing networks, collaborations, or other (study and work) programs, even months after their participation in the Winter School. This might contribute to sustainability: fostering international exchange in adult education and lifelong learning. Based on the project and students’ insights, it can be concluded that the “ability to reflect on global systems and to take intra-cultural and trans-cultural competencies into account can be described as inherent needs of professionalization in adult and continuing education” (Egetenmeyer, Schmidt-Lauff, & Boffo, 2017, p. 10). To that end, COMPALL and other programs offer structures, space, and open opportunities on the long path towards becoming a professional.

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Notes 1 The article presents extracts from the 2015 application form (Prof. Egetenmeyer), followed by partner agreement No. 2015-1-DE01-KA203-002203. Project website: http://www.hw.uni-wuerzburg.de/compall/startseite/ 2 ERASMUS is the world’s most successful student mobility program (see facts, figures, and trends in http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/ education/library/statistics/erasmus-plus-facts-figures_en.pdf). 3 http://www.hw.uni-wuerzburg.de/compall/startseite

References BMBF. (2013). 20. Sozialerhebung des deutschen Studentenwerkes. Retrieved from https://www.studentenwerke.de/de/content/20-sozialerhebung-des%C2% A0deutschen-studentenwerks Commission of the European Communities. (2000, October 30). A memorandum on lifelong learning (Commission staff working paper). Brussels: Commission of the European Communities. Retrieved from http://arhiv.acs.si/dokumenti/ Memorandum_on_Lifelong_Learning.pdf Comparative Studies in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning (COMPALL). (n.d.). COMPALL partner universities. Retrieved from https://www.hw.uni-wuerzburg.de/ compall/partners/ Egetenmeyer, R. (2014). Im Fokus: International-vergleichende forschung in der erwachsenenbildung/weiterbildung: Zwischen bildungspolitischer steuerung und disziplinärer konfiguration. Report: Zeitschrift für Weiterbildungsforschung, 37(2), 15–28. Egetenmeyer, R. (2016). Comparing adult education and lifelong learning in Europe and beyond: An introduction. In R. Egetenmeyer (Ed.), Adult education and lifelong learning in Europe and beyond (pp. 13–28). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Egetenmeyer, R., Schmidt-Lauff, S., & Boffo, V. (2017). Internationalization and professionalization in adult education: An introduction. In R. Egetenmeyer, S. Schmidt-Lauff, & V. Boffo (Eds.), Adult learning and education in international contexts: Future challenges for its professionalization (pp. 9–18). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. European Commission. (2011). Agenda for the modernisation of Europe’s higher education systems. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/ repository/education/library/policy/modernisation_en.pdf European Commission. (n.d.). Descriptors defining levels in the European Qualification Framework (EQF). Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/ploteus/content/descriptorspage

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European Council. (2011, December 20). Council resolution on a renewed European agenda for adult learning. Brussel: European Council. Retrieved from http://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32011G1220(01)&from=EN European Union. (2015). Erasmus. Facts, figures & trends: The European union support for student and staff exchanges and university cooperation in 2013–2014. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/library/ statistics/erasmus-plus-facts-figures_en.pdf Field, J., Künzel, K., & Schemmann, M. (2016). International comparative adult education research: Reflections on theory, methodology and future developments. International Yearbook of Adult Education, 38, 109–133. Lattke, S. (2016, February 3–13). External evaluation COMPALL. Evaluation report on the international winter school in Würzburg, Bonn (Unpublished evaluation report DIE). Lima, L. C., Guimarães, P., & Touma, N. (2016). Adult learning and education policies in Germany, Portugal and Sweden. In R. Egetenmeyer (Ed.), Adult education and lifelong learning in Europe and beyond. (pp. 29–66). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Moutsios, S. (2010). Power, politics and transnational policy-making in education. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 8(1), 121–141. doi:10.1080/14767720903574121 Semrau, F. (2016). Internationalität als Chance für akademische Professionalisierung in der Erwachsenenbildung (Unpublished master’s thesis). Technische Universität Chemnitz, Chemnitz. Schmidt-Lauff, S. (2007). Wie steht es um die internationalisierung von Studiengängen in Deutschland? Das Beispiel Erziehungswissenschaft. Erziehungswissenschaft, 17(34), 38–60. Schmidt-Lauff, S. (Ed.). (2003). Adult education and lifelong learning: A European view as perceived by participants in an exchange programme. Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovac. Schmidt-Lauff, S., & Egetenmeyer, R. (2015). Internationalisierung: Internationale erwachsenenbildung. In A. von Hippel & J. Dinkelaker (Eds.), Erwachsenenbildung in Grundbegriffen (pp. 272–279). Stuttgart: Kohlhammer Verlag.

Sabine Schmidt-Lauff Helmut Schmidt University, Germany Franziska Semrau Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany Regina Egetenmeyer University of Wurzburg, Germany

chapter 8

Facilitating Social and Personal Growth with Simple Things Jule Hildmann

1

Introduction

There is broad international agreement nowadays that in a world like ours, which is governed by uncertainty, diversity, and fast-paced change, more than a fixed set of knowledge and skills is needed in order to lead a healthy, content, and prosperous private and professional life. Consequently, an increasing number of regional and national school authorities as well as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) call for transferrable key competencies – that to a large part consist of social and personal skills like cooperative behaviour, problem solving strategies and self-management – to be a prime focus of formal and informal education (e.g., Priestly, 2013). In fact, such transferrable skills or “key competencies” (OECD, 2005) are considered indispensable in order to reach a healthy and content private and professional life as well as a prosperous, just, and sustainable society (ibid). Accompanying this reconstruction of curriculum design is a discussion on the ideal pedagogy to achieve these soft goals. Traditional teacher-oriented instruction methods are considered far less suitable to nourish such overarching skills than holistic, interactive, and life-oriented approaches to learning and teaching – such as experiential education (Roberts, 2012). 1.1 Experiential Education This is a general approach to teaching and learning, based on Dewey’s (1925, 1938) ideas often referred to as ‘learning by doing’. According to the Oxford Dictionary (n.d.), an experience is “practical contact with and observation of facts or events”. Experiential education emphasizes the importance of physical and emotional interactions with the surrounding world – and potentially curricular content – to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and skills (Beard & Wilson, 2006; Kolb, 2015; Roberts, 2012). Especially in the form of outdoor adventure education, it has a long standing reputation across the globe to effectively and sustainably raise crucial life skills and competencies (Ewert & Garvey, 2007; Ewert & Sibthorp, 2014; Rehm, 1999). A closer look into © koninklijke brill nv, leideN, 2018 | DOI 10.1163/9789004366077_008

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the literature and practice reveals distinct regional nuances in the methods and philosophy, which are connected to local geography, culture, and history (Heckmair & Michl, 2004; Paffrath, 2013). This chapter will outline such differences in regard to a small number of concepts, and focus on simple things (or SimpleThings) which is a related approach developed in Germany. After explaining some of its key features, empirical evidence for its effectiveness and growing impact is presented. Thoughts on the potential value and ways of application in other countries and cultural contexts form the conclusion of this chapter.

2

Conceptual Framework

The simple things approach is part of a global movement to use experiences – mostly in connection with nature – to develop and train essential personal and social life skills as mentioned above. 2.1 Outdoor Adventure Education (OAE) Outdoor education or (outdoor) adventure education is an educational approach used in English speaking countries and a number of other regions around the world, such as India, Central and South America, Taiwan (Ewert & Sibthorp, 2014; Martin, Cashel, Wagstaff, & Breunig, 2006). Its objective is to promote social and personal skills such as decision-making, problem-solving, the ability to motivate oneself and others, and to manage resources and tasks (Martin et al., 2006). This is pursued mainly with outdoor sports such as canoeing, climbing, mountaineering and back packing, and the programs are often several weeks long and in a remote wilderness setting (Ewert & Sibthorp, 2014; Priest & Gass, 2005). Learning is achieved through physical, mental, and socioemotional challenges in a group context with strong social cohesion (ibid.). Despite these main general parameters, there is a vast divergence among the actual programs with regard to activities, program structure, target groups, level of intensity from recreational to therapeutic, and so forth. Two strong factors of influence on the actual phenomenology of OAE programs are ‘place’ and culture: The geography and geology of a location determines much of its infrastructure and industry (e.g., agriculture, mining, tourism), which in turn deeply influences a populations frame of mind, attitudes, values, and norms – in short, its culture. The (stereotypical) cultural differences, for example between the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, in terms of norms, values, interaction, and other factors that are evident in everyday life equally show their impact in the ways (experiential) education is conceptualised and implemented. In line with that, studies have repeatedly suggested that the

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characteristics and strategies that are perceived as desirable in leaders differ significantly across cultures (Ayman & Korabik, 2010). In essence, there are fine distinctions between outdoor education, outdoor adventure education, and experiential education. However, since these are also not directly relevant to the topic discussed here, they will not be discussed in further detail here, and the abbreviation OAE will be used in this chapter to denote their combined general concept.

3

Erlebnispädagogik as German Counterpart

3.1 Terminology and Translations Erlebnispädagogik (Epäd) is an approach related to outdoor adventure and/ or experiential education in regard to some of the underlying assumptions and methodology (Paffrath, 2013). It is extremely popular, and widely used in Germany and the neighbouring countries in order to effectively promote social and personal growth in informal – and less so, formal – education. Mainly outdoor settings and activities are employed (Bundesverband Individual- und Erlebnispädagogik, n.d.), similar to OAE. EPäd is a compound of the two words Erlebnis and Pädagogik – the latter meaning education, not pedagogy. The German word Erlebnis does not have a literal translation in English. It is situated somewhere between experience and adventure, being formally defined as “an event that is subjectively perceived by someone as impressive” (Duden, n.d.). Equally, neither the term nor the concept of Epäd has a direct equivalent in English. 3.2 Similarities and Differences of Epäd and OAE The intended learning outcomes vary from the previously described approaches to certain degrees. While in OAE the acquisition of technical skills – e.g. paddling strokes for canoeing – is of equal importance, Epäd is primarily directed at social and personal growth of program participants. Here, the technical skills are considered to be merely a means to an end (i.e., canoeing an activity chosen in order to train coordination of efforts, patience, or the like). An objective shared by both approaches is to promote ecological awareness and sustainable behaviour. While both approaches make strong use of outdoor locations, OAE stretches this further into remote wilderness settings. This is less so in Epäd, probably because the Germanic countries are much more densely populated than large areas of the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Hence, EPäd. programs are most often conducted in outdoor centres with some kind of access to woodlands, mountains, caves, rivers or sea shore. However, city bound

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activities – which make deliberate use of urban environments (Crowther, 2005; Deubzer & Feige, 2004; Klein & Wustrau, 2014; Levine, 1978; Van Welzenis, 1994) – have seen a strong incline over the past years. The same is true for sensory and mindfulness activities, trust activities, and cooperative initiative games (i.e., a challenge presented to a team or group of people that can only be solved through cooperative behaviour, efficient problem-solving, and – depending on the particular task – other skills that are set out as learning targets; Gilsdorf & Kistner, 2001, 2003; Reiners, 2003). Some of the working principles of Epäd – and to a large degree OA as well – are – ‘Challenge by choice’ (meaning that every individual is entitled and responsible to gage their own level and direction of challenge and learning). – To aim for emotional, social, and holistic learning. – To encourage physically active and interactive ‘learning by doing’ – To take conscientious measures to ensure a processing of the experience (either before, during or after the activity) – To devise and implement active and goal-oriented measures to support the transfer of learning to other and general contexts (Heckmair & Michl, 2004; Michl, 2011). There is a wealth of English as well as German literature exploring different models of facilitation, with a prominent issue being when and how to review activities (Cain, Cummings, & Stanchfield, 2005; Friebe, 2010; Greenaway, 2007; Priest & Gass, 1999; Simpson, Miller, & Bocher, 2006). The reality in the field however, shows a much stronger emphasis on reviewing and refining reviewing techniques in Epäd as opposed to most OAE programs. Table 8.1 summarises the similarities and differences between OAE, Epäd, and the simple things approach that is discussed later in this chapter. 3.3 Socio-Philosophical Foundations Epäd in general and SimpleThings in particular is a solution- and resourceoriented approach, focussing on the strengths and available resources of individuals and groups. It encompasses a ‘growth mindset’ (Dweck, 2006) meaning that there is the general assumption that people have a lot more potential than is realised at a given point in time, and that we can improve and grow, amongst others through making mistakes and learning from them (ibid.). It is based on constructivist (Krieg & Watzlawick, 2002; Riegler, 2012) and systemic social philosophy (Jordan, Carlile, & Stack, 2008; Thomas & Kreszmeier, 2007). It implements principles of interactive, multisensory and emotional learning, all of which are supported by evidence

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table 8.1  Similarities and diffferences between outdoor adventure education (OAE), erlebnispädagogik (Epäd), and the simple things approach (SiThi)

Examples of main… learning objectives

locations & settings

methods & activities

material or props

OAE

Epäd

– Technical skills – (e.g., sport related) – Personal and social – skills – Environmental awareness – Nearly exclusively – outdoors – More or less remote wilderness settings – – Outdoor sports – Bush craft – Environmental activities – High and low ropes courses, cooperative challenges – And others – Special (outdoor) sports and technical equipment

– – – – – –

SiThi

Personal and social skills Environmental awareness

– Personal and social skills – (Environmental awareness)

Predominantly (but not exclusively) outdoors Natural or urban settings High and low ropes courses cooperative challenges Outdoor sports Bush craft Environmental skills And others

– Outdoors or indoors – Everyday work or life settings – Cooperative challenges – Activities combined with school or other lessons – Modified everyday activities – And others – Whatever is available at a given location – Paper, pens, etc. for visualisation and process facilitation

– Varying amounts of special equipment (depending on program) – Paper, pens, etc. for visualisation and process facilitation – One to five days en – One to five days en duration of – Up to several bloc bloc programs weeks and even months en bloc – Long-term ongoing – Long-term ongoing – Long-term ongoing (e.g., weekly sessions) (e.g., weekly (e.g., weekly sessions) sessions)

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of neuropsychological processes in learning and attainment (Armony & Vuilleumier, 2012; Gazzaniga, Ivry, & Mangun, 2014; Heckmair & Michl, 2013; Herrmann, 2009; Hildmann & Nicol, 2014). 3.4 Epäd and School Curriculum The PISA assessments and publications by the OECD on ‘key competencies’ have urged the German school system to increase their efforts to build competencies and – preferably transferrable – skills in students. This has led to priorities shifting from classical curriculum content and attainment to a more holistic perspective on human development with the socio-emotional health of well-rounded individuals being recognised as a strong and reliable predictor for personal and societal wellbeing and prosperity (OECD, 2005). Epäd is mostly and traditionally situated outdoors and outside of school (Bundesverband Individual- und Erlebnispädagogik, n.d.). Nevertheless, since field trips and excursions (e.g., for subjects like history or geography) are usually in some ways outdoors as well as experiential, they have become closely associated with Epäd (Gilsdorf & Volkert, 2004). In comparison, the concept of outdoor learning in the UK is wider than outdoor education as the former is seen as pedagogy to transport school curriculum by taking learning outdoors (Beames, Higgins, & Nicol, 2012; Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2010). Beames and colleagues discuss different zones of outdoor learning (see Fig. 8.1), of which, expanding from the school building, the classical sport-oriented type of outdoor education is dominating the outer zones.

figure 8.1 Zones of outdoor learning, expanding from the school building (based on Higgins & Nicol, 2012, p. 44)

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4.1 Origins One short coming of both OAE and Epäd is that they present extensive requirements in regard to equipment, logistics (e.g., accommodation and transport), and instructor qualifications. These financial and logistic restraints effectively exclude large educational contexts from OAE provisions, such as in many cases schools and social work institutions – both of whom profit immensely from these approaches. In order to overcome this barrier, a PhD research project investigated to what degree and effect principles of Epäd could be transported into a regular classroom setting, relying solely on the conditions that were in place (e.g., no financial support, no means of transport, no sport qualifications of teachers, fixed timetables, and so forth; Hildmann, 2010). Formal details on the project can be found in the Evidence section below. The results of the study were so compelling, and the implemented factors so simple, that this gave rise to the concept and approach that became known as simple things (or SimpleThings), which can be used to nurture social and personal growth while – optionally – combining this with school curriculum (Hildmann, 2008). 4.2 Key Factors for Success One key factor for the success that became evident from this research project was to use merely and deliberately the local environment and everyday material, instead of relying on specialised sport or other equipment. The definition of ‘everyday material’ is whatever can be found at a given location or setting, and with the effort of no more than a trip to the local supermarket (Hildmann, 2015, 2017a, 2017b). What this comprises will vary greatly with the location: For example sticks, leaves, soil or rocks in a park versus chairs, tables, pens and paper in a classroom. An activity might include devising and visualising a symbol for the team strength(s), which could be drawn on paper in the classroom while scratched into the ground with a stick in the park. Where no resources at all seem available, the symbol could still be formed by the participants with their own bodies or jackets. Indeed, large learning potential stems from reframing the current surrounding as a pool of resources, and in the social interactions involved in identifying these and employing them purposefully in the problem-solving process. Another crucial factor is that a traditional conception and actions of a teacher as process manager and the holder of knowledge need best to be abandoned. Instead, their impact on the social and person growth in learners is strongly augmented by seeing themselves and acting as facilitators for learning. This is achieved through a stance of empowerment (Thompson,

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2006) and growth mindset (Dweck, 2008, 2012), employing systemic methods and questions (Thomas & Kreszmeier, 2007), creating a warm social climate and allowing different alley ways of feedback (Hattie, 2009; Hattie & Yates, 2014). This warm and growth-oriented style is argued to enhance learning more than the challenge and get-out-of-your-comfort-zone approach that is still dominant in OAE practice around the world (Davis-Berman & Bermann, 2002; Leberman & martin, 2003). 4.3 The SimpleThings Model This approach has since seen a strong rise in Germany and is now in positive demand in and outside school contexts. While a number of activities, methods, and practical guidance have been developed specifically as part of the simple things concept, a whole lot of existing activities also cover the three principles of (1) promoting personal and social skills, (2) through experiential education activities – that idealy create a flow experience (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) – using (3) only everyday material (Hildmann, 2008, 2017a, 2017b) (see Fig. 8.2).

figure 8.2 The SimpleThings model

4.4 Curricular Content As mentioned previously, this approach originates from a PhD project in education and psychology, which investigated how and to what extent school curricular content could be taught and learned using OAE

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working principles – such as emotional and physically active learning, choice and self-determination, team tasks, and so forth. For details on the research project, see Section 7. Since outdoor sports could hardly be conducted in the class room and even school grounds, the project team sought for existing experiential education activities that could be employed or adapted to transport lesson content (e.g., a team game where students have to direct each other through an obstacle course, training either numeracy skills by giving directions in degrees of a circle, or practicing specific foreign language vocabulary). The activities found in this way were still rather limited in number and feasibility for the required topics. Consequently, new activities were designed, and over time systematic strategies developed on how to transport lesson material and at the same time the ‘hidden curriculum’ of increasing social and personal skills. One of these strategies was to find or create an interactive metaphor for whatever was supposed to be taught. For example, biochemical processes are represented through large objects or preferably even students themselves, who are being labelled and moved around the room according to the processes in question. A second strategy found efficient was to weave in and out of new content and new skills. An example: The students would be introduced to peer learning (Topping, 2001; Topping, Buchs, Duran, & Keer, 2017) with lesson content they were familiar with. Once they felt confident with peer learning – and had thereby increased their independence, self-reliability and communication skills –, new content would be delivered through peer learning. Further details and the full list of identified strategies can be found in Hildmann (2010). 4.5 Requirements on the Teachers and Facilitators If this is so easy and compelling, why has it not long been widely implemented?! Indeed, to teachers and facilitators who pick up the approach easily, this a mystery. The main reason seems to be that In return for being so simple in regards to physical resources, the demands on the educators are potentially higher, namely to: – Be perceptive to the apparent and hidden topics relevant to a group of participants. – Have refined knowledge of and practical skills in facilitating learning and group processes. – Have the skills and mindset to convert occasional misadventures into nevertheless valuable learning opportunities. – Implement efficient activities for reviewing. – Devise active measures and strategies to support the transfer of learning.

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This requires professional skills as well as personal traits and abilities that all contribute to facilitating growth in learners (Michl, 2016, as cited in Hildmann, 2017a). What many school teachers find the hardest in adopting this educational approach are the requirements to their self-perception attitudes and stance. In order to increase independence and personal strengths in students, the teacher needs to act as a facilitator of learning, not a traditional classroom instructor. For some this comes naturally, while others need to engage in deep and prolonged critical reflection on the appropriateness of their actions, attitudes, and underlying values and assumptions. While many teachers have adopted this decades ago, it is still far from being the norm, and many opportunities for growth are curtailed by teacher-oriented rather than student- and solutionoriented learning.

5

Innovativeness

The simple things concept is a variation of Epäd and as such in turn related to some basics of outdoor adventure education. At the same time, it is clearly unique in a very practical and real life-oriented way, since it presents a complete ‘use what you got’ approach of resourcefulness and sensitivity to a given location and setting. These aspects of innovativeness have also been identified to be some of the factors for the approach’s success (see above). 5.1 Cost Efficient with No Special Equipment or Qualifications Required As mentioned above, outdoor adventure education and Epäd take place mostly outdoors (Ewert & Sibthorp, 2014; Bundesverband Individual- und Erlebnispädagogik, n.d., respectively) with a strong use of outdoor sports such as mountaineering, sailing, backpacking or rafting. All of these require special technical equipment that usually charges a considerable price. In addition, the equipment must be stored and serviced appropriately, and it needs to be replaced at certain intervals due to tear and wear. This causes considerable financial and logistic expenses from program providers. Furthermore, to pursue outdoor activities with organised groups requires professional or semiprofessional qualifications that are either government-regulated like in the UK or gained through courses with the sport-specific associations or marine, alpine, or outdoor leadership associations like in the US or central Europe. To gain these qualifications, one needs to make a significant time and financial commitment – no matter how good value for money they are. In Epäd more so than in OAE, some facilitators specialise in corporate team development with problem-solving activities and traditional facilitation

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and visualisation techniques, thus using less of the outdoor sports spectrum. Nevertheless, material for this corporate context is often immensely overprized and does not constitute a noticeable financial advantage over the sport supplies. This in total poses funding demands that many educational providers in formal and informal education find hard or impossible to meet. The SimpleThings approach aims to make the gains of experiential and outdoor education more widely accessible, including geographical regions that do not have access to specialised sport equipment and institutions that have to manage without a budget allowing for such training courses and material. This aim is achieved by maintaining the underlying principles of OAE and creatively searching for, or developing activities that train the same skills and competencies while utilising only and deliberately local resources. The only special equipment, if you will, that is strongly recommended whenever working actively and/or outdoors with groups, is a first aid kit and some paper and markers to visualise content and results. Both however incur minimal costs. 5.2 Flexible and Highly Adaptable to Local Circumstances and Resources As mentioned before, the concept emphasizes the creative use of whatever location and resources are available. This can be indoors and outdoors, in natural or urban area, school grounds, a park, gym or scout hall, or nearly anywhere else. This shifts the focus from adrenalin-driven sport activities to cooperative initiatives, sensory activities, and other ‘soft’ methods, which have proven to be at least as effective in terms of achieving positive and sustainable growth in social and personal skills – while being easily applicable, resourceful and thereby accessible to all. Using what is in place promotes a change of perspective on our everyday surrounding that if often taken for granted, which in turn can be a door opener to wider critical reflection on our personal and social lives (Hildmann, 2017b). 5.3 Turning Everyday Events into Learning Opportunities Next to making use of everyday locations and material, the simple things approach also makes a point of raising sensitivity and creativity to turn everyday activities – such as a shared meal, washing, or moving from one place to another – into refined experiential learning opportunities. Here are some simple factors that can be altered in order to achieve this. They are exemplifies on the activity of a communal meal. – Use of ‘handicaps’. Participants could eat blindfolded or with having their wrists tied to the wrists of the persons sitting next to them around the table.

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–

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Eating without seeing what food is available on the table as well as on one’s own plate requires increased concentration and communication skills. Tying neighbours together forces them to cooperate and be patient in order to all eat enough and without making a complete mess. Change the rules. One often applied rule or convention is that we eat mainly from our own plate and use our cutlery to transport food into our own mouth. Alternatively though, the participants could be forbidden to feed themselves and/or to eat food from their own plate. This would lead to people having to serve and feed each other. This in combination with the handicap of “no speaking” creates a significant challenge for many people in regard to physical and social coordination, interpret or assume others needs and wishes, self-awareness through having to ask for and accept help, or the like. Restrict the resources. If for example a team is asked to prepare a fruit salad in a short amount of time, while only being given a single knife, then they will have to coordinate quickly and work hand in hand efficiently in order to complete the task on time. Change the place. Instead of eating at a table, seated on benches or chairs, this meal could take place in a tree (and nobody is allowed to start eating before everybody is served) or under the table, which requires each a different set of social and personal skills, and in addition sparks conversations about habitual conventions and perspectives on other cultures and ways of living. Change the social constellation. Sharing a course with a friend or loved one may feel comfortable for many, and a familiar thing to do. How about sharing a plate of food with a stranger? What thoughts, concerns, and questions does that provoke? What kind of experiences might participants have when they share each course with a different person in the room? An evaluation phase could focus on individual needs, respecting personal space and privacy, and general rules of interaction in the group. Alter the speed. Usually, we all have our individual speed when eating. Time pressure or engaging conversations or can naturally speed this up or slow it down. Trying to eat a bowl of soup in exactly 30 min for example, can easily turn into a reflective mindfulness session, which – maybe in combination with a frontloaded impulse for thought – could be a preparatory exercise for a consecutive main activity.

Needless to say, not all of these will be applied at the same time. Instead, they represent a buffet of options from which the facilitators can pick and choose to ideally meet the needs and particularities of a given group, and according to what serves the intended learning outcomes best.

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5.4 Simple Theory and Practical Guidelines The theory and practice of simple things draws widely on the available literature and an interdisciplinary body of research (e.g., sources provided throughout this chapter). Nevertheless, since the intention is accessibility and the authors make a deliberate point of presenting the theory in a simple and perspicuous manner. This means avoiding technical terms, providing examples for explanations, developing models to visualise and communicate key issues, simplifying instructions, and discussing in depth salient points of impact in order to help educators increase the effectiveness and quality of their facilitation and learning processes. The available material also offers simple guidelines on how to develop new learning activities (e.g., a trust activity or cooperative team challenge), modify the level of challenge before and during an activity, create suitable metaphors and narratives around activities, how to turn necessary work elements into engaging learning situations (e.g., forming smaller groups from a plenary), how to turn perceived failures into valuable opportunities for growth, or how to arrange the hello and fare-well phases of an event in ways that promote learning, transfer, and social cohesion (Hildmann, 2017b).

6

National Context

Since Epäd does not directly translate into English terminology and prevailing concepts, it is linked to a unique linguistic and cultural context, as is the simple things approach. It has been argued repeatedly that Germany is one of the birth places of outdoor and adventure education with Kurt Hahn (founder of the Outward Bound movement and erlebnistherapie as precursor to OAE) starting his career and influence here before fleeing to the UK in world war II. With team spirit, and group identity being viciously misused under Hitler, Epäd went through several phases of rejection and reinvention in alternative shapes over the following decades and until today, which has led to a different concept than elsewhere in the world (Paffrath, 2013; Heckmair & Michl, 2004). There has been a one-way flow of information and literature, with Germany, Austria and Switzerland having access to developments in English speaking countries, while little has been translated of the OAE innovations in the German speaking regions. Therefore, a somewhat insular context has developed, which like friluftsliv in Scandinavian countries is rooted in a specific cultural and geographical heritage. This seems unfortunate, as they have much to offer beyond national boundaries. One example of the particular slant Epäd has taken is that due to wilderness being scarce in Germany, programs may take place mainly or in some cases completely indoors, as opposed to it

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being outdoor education. Also, so-called ‘soft methods’ such as mindfulness sessions, sensory activities and Land Art (art in and with nature; Malpas, 2016; Pouyet, 2013; Tufnell, 2006; Wallis & Kastner, 2005) are equally used and appreciated as (outdoor) sports (Paffrath, 2013; Reiners 1995). In fact, these seemingly inconspicuous activities are arguably more efficient in surfacing relevant matters and to facilitate deeply personal experiences and growth than adrenalin driven adventure activities (Davis-Berman & Berman, 2002; Hildmann, 2017a, 2017b).

7

Evidence

Although the bulk of publications connected to the simple things approach are brought forth by the single author of this chapter, its simplicity and resourcefulness seem to have been compelling to a wide range of practitioners and experts. Since the first mention of ‘simple things’ (Hildmann, 2008) in the only professional journal on experiential education published in German language, there has been a rapidly growing interest in Germany in the general philosophy and practical activities of this approach. Following are pieces of evidence for the impact simple things have had on the experiential education landscape in – so far restricted to – the German speaking countries. 7.1 Research As already explained, the concept grew out of a PhD project that investigated how and to what effect the main working principles of Epäd could be transported into everyday classroom lessons (Hildmann, 2010). Three classes of eighth grade students (N = 23) were taught subjects (e.g. history, science, art – as assigned by the school to the project teacher) using the approach for two to four lessons per week over a 12 week period. Effects were measured pre, post, and approximately six months follow-up in respect to social and personal skills; behaviour, engagement, and attainment in lessons; school grades in report cards; and other factors of potential impact. The methods employed in this qualitative quantitative mixed-method research study ranged from statistically evaluated questionnaires over participatory observations and semi-structured qualitative interviews to informal self-assessment of the students. The students were attending a school for additional support needs. This covered a wide spectrum, including sensory impairment, socio-emotional challenges, learning disabilities, autism, ADHD, and physical handicaps. The results showed significant increase in a range of social and personal skills in all participating students, particularly in regard to acting more independently and self-organised, demonstrating pro-social behaviour and communication

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patterns, and overall class cohesion. Even the attainment improved in nearly all children over a six and twelve months period, as measured in their formal report cards. Teacher interviews presented deeper insights into the process and implementation of the project, for example that impressive props and activities were seen as less relevant than subtle elements of facilitation (i.e., how tasks were presented, questions responded to, creative solutions valued and students being explicitly given the ownership and responsibility of managing tasks and processes). A salient point was that presenting group tasks in this manner stimulated positive group dynamics while at the same time every single student was able to grow from the approach in ways individually relevant to them. Two control groups of (a) students at similar schools nearby, and (b) local regular schools were included, which confirmed the likeliness of the effects being caused by the project intervention. The positive development of students across the board also indicates that the approach is beneficial for all children and youth, not ‘merely’ for individuals with additional support needs. The research project was merited with a Phd ‘magna cum laude’ from the Ludwigs-Maximilians-University in Munich, a German elite university. Part of the examiners’ rationale for the distinction was the high degree of practical value of the intervention format and the documentation. The dissertation was published online, and deliberately avoided overly academic language in order to be accessible and of practical value for scholars and practitioners alike. Numerous enquiries and feedback from students and professionals through email and personal communication confirm that this is taking place as intended. Excerpts of the dissertation are increasingly used in handouts for training sessions and courses. 7.2 Training Courses Through formal and informal networks, a considerable demand for presentations and workshops for different professions has been expressed to the author. Over the past few years, training courses have been held for a range of academic and vocational institutions (e.g., University of Augsburg, Ostbayrische Technische Hochschule Regensburg, Centrum für Erlebnispädagogik Volkersberg, Evangelische Landjugendakademie Altenkirchen – all in Germany) as well as special events and (international) conference presentations in the disciplines of psychology, special and general education, social work, denominational education, and games-based learning (e.g., International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement 2016; Lernort Bauernhof, 2016; Erleben & Lernen, 2010, 2012; European Conference on Games-Based Learning, 2009; Internationale Konferenz Psychologie im Netzwerk, 2007, 2008). The ministry of education in Bavaria, Germany, piloted a teacher training course on Epäd and simple things related methods in school in May 2017 at the

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Centrum für Erlebnispädagogik Volkersberg. The conclusion of the ministry from this is to make this training available to all Bavarian school teachers in the future, for which further steps are now taken. 7.3 Publications Professor Dr. Werner Michl, chair emeritus at the Georg Ohm University of Applied Sciences in Nuremberg, is one of the leading figures in the field of Epäd to date. His list of international publications and presentations is extensive (Michl, n.d.), and his books are used as standard text books and core reading for literally every student training in this profession. In his key note at the international conference Erleben und Lernen 2014 in Augsburg, he explicitly promoted the simple things approach as a promising countermovement to the ‘higher, faster, more (tech stuff)’ trend of consumerism nowadays, which has not bypassed our field. He also called for more publications on its theory and practice (Michl, 2014). Various parts of the simple things concept have been made available to different audiences in formal and informal education through a spectrum of publications. These range from plain course handouts to newsletter and journal articles, commentaries, conference contributions, and most recently entire monographs (Hildmann, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017a, 2017b; Hildmann & Moseley, 2012; Hildmann & Seuffert, 2010). A whole special edition of the German journal in outdoor adventure education, erleben & lernen, was dedicated to simple things in 2015 (Fengler, Jagenlauf, & Michl, 2015). There are two main publishers serving the academic and practitioner community around Epäd: Ziel in Augsburg, and Ernst Reinhardt in Munich. Both have been urging for books on this approach for several years. In January 2017, Ziel finally released a compendium of simple things activities (i.e., Hildmann, 2017a). The book contains 60 practical exercises divided into the six areas: Park and fields, Forest, Night, City, Class/seminar room, and Gym hall. These are accompanied by introductory texts on the potential for learning in each of these areas, safety advice and specific tips and tricks. The second book is published with Ernst Reinhardt in autumn 2017, and focuses on how to facilitate personal and social growth as explained in the Innovativeness section above. A translation and adaptation of a combined monograph with an English publisher is currently in preparation.

8

Transnationalness

The factors that make this approach appealing to practitioners have been outlined above, and are by no means restricted to the German context.

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8.1 Simple Things Pursue Transnationally Relevant Objectives Education is the way to a prosperous, healthy, and sustainable future – on an individual as well as global scale. And there is broad agreement nowadays that this does not merely comprise a fixed set of technical knowledge, but a wide spectrum of transferrable skills. Many governments aim to raise the quality and effectiveness of their educational systems in response to PISA results, state of the art research findings (such as Hattie’s vast metaanalysis on factors that impact on learning; Hattie, 2009), and contemporary influences on individuals and society, such as continuous uncertainty, social mobility and diversity. Some school systems are already exploring ways to promote key competencies and transferrable skills alongside curricular content (e.g., Scotland, Canada, and the Scandinavian countries). However, nearly all of them still have a far way to go, especially until political claims and suggested principles have truly permeated the everyday practice of formal and informal education. The simple things approach could make a valuable contribution here, as it is easy to grasp and to implement – as long as educators are willing to change not just instruction methods but also their attitudes and interaction styles (see the section Requirements on the teachers and facilitators above). Incidentally, it has been demonstrated that the set of social and personal skills claimed by the OECD and some progressive national curricula (e.g. the Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland; Scottish Government, n.d.) show great overlaps with the outcomes frequently reported on in outdoor and adventure education programs (e.g., Cason & Gillis, 1994; Fiennes, Oliver, Dickson, Escobar, Romans, & Oliver, 2015; Hans, 2000; Hattie, Marsh, Neill, & Richards, 1997; Rickinson, Dillon, Teamey, Morris, Choi, Sanders, & Benefield, 2004; Wilson & Lipsey, 1998). This suggests that forms of experiential education and Epäd might be ideally suited to nurture these skills and competencies, which of course would be beneficial for many countries and cultures (Hildmann, 2016, ICSEI). 8.2 Simple Things Are Suitable for Formal and Informal Education Much of this chapter has addressed the approach’s ability to be combined with lesson content. However, this is not a requirement, and the much larger audience so far is based in informal education, such as youth and social work, team development programs, and community education. Raising confidence, self-efficacy, social and environmental responsibility or dealing with conflicts – to just name a few typical learning outcomes – are objectives shared by youth clubs, the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, Scouts, drug and violence preand intervention programs, empowerment courses for persons with additional support needs and fringe populations, social workers, youth at risk programs,

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denominational groups, and professional training courses alike. Many simple things activities can be easily tweaked to fit a certain target group, for example with the following strategies. – Adjusting the level of challenge in a task (e.g., by adding rules, limiting permitted resources or time, introducing handicaps (as already explained in the section Turning Everyday Events into Learning Opportunities). – Framing and linking the activities in an action narrative that is intriguing and engaging for the particular age and target group (e.g., animals of the forest for toddlers, Olympic games for children, an alien or zombie invasion for teenagers, and a secret agent mission for adults). – Adopting a leadership style that is most suitable and supportive to the needs and level of (group) development of a present group (e.g., the level of support and presence that is need from the facilitator versus giving more responsibility and ownership of the processes to the participants). – The type and depth of evaluation that accompanies an activity (e.g., no reviewing at all, short and easy verbal or nonverbal evaluation activities, complex multi-step measures before, during and after a core activity to emphasize and realign actions with targets). Many of the publications around simple things explain in detail how such adaptations can be designed and implemented to ideally support a specific group in achieving their individual and shared learning objectives. 8.3 The Approach Is Inclusive and Accessible to All Many educational providers, and wider geographical regions, are in threat of or already impacted by poverty. This means that unless educational and charitable sponsors step in, the classic outdoor education programs with long expeditions and expensive outdoor sports are unobtainable to them. Whether or not these populations are more or less in need of such educational programs than more affluent ones, is debatable. The simple things approach however is accessible to all, because once the principles are adopted, it can basically be implemented with bare hands. The only training required is in understanding general principles of learning and communication, how to lead and manage groups, and essential soft skills in facilitation in order to lead and enhance learning processes. 8.4 Simple Things Can Be Adjusted to Other Cultures and Places Based on the key features already discussed of this approach, it is plainly evident how simple things can be easily transported into alternative cultural and geographic settings. The explicit responsiveness to local features and

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resources makes lends itself ideally for a transnational application. And in fact, as insightful as it is to compare the already existing adaptations and experiences with for example a specific team game in different age and educational context, as enriching might it be to explore, collate and compare the particularities in different cultures and geographical regions. The only common denominator apparent so far is that the underlying socio-philosophical stance and interaction style (as described in section Requirements on the teachers and facilitators) needs to be adopted as it has been identified as an – if not the – most salient factor of impact on the success of an educational intervention with simple things. The main factor that has prevented the dissemination of the simple things approach beyond the German speaking countries is a dearth of publications in English language and/or translation of the existing material. The planned production of a book with theoretical background, practical guidance, and hands-on activities is hoped to bridge this gap. Meanwhile, practitioners are encouraged to enjoy brainstorming and experimenting with their own local environment and available ‘everyday material’ to explore a bit of the potential that lies therein – and maybe even come up with their own activities and applications.

9

Conclusion

The simple things approach is a variant of erlebnispädagogik and experiential education, following mostly the same principles and philosophy as OAE. Yet its minimalism in respect to props and organisational effort forms a stark contrast to the way OAE is dominantly practiced in the English speaking world. Replacing the adrenalin-rich experiences in adventure sports with a slow-down stance and an emphasis on utilising and appreciating the local surrounding and resources makes it easily accessible and affordable even for educational providers with restricted financial means. This placeresponsiveness also renders the approach ideally suited to be applied widely across linguistic and cultural borders. With some experience and creativity, thematic topics such as school subjects can also be delivered with this approach, pursuing a parallel increase of attainment and socio-personal skills, which delivers to the current call for raising key competencies in youth to make them fit for life. A lot of the simple things concept seems logical and common sense. Sadly enough though, the tendency in most societies today is still towards more technology, action, and high frequency sensory input – rather than to explore the richness inherent in simplicity. Therefore, the practical application and

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evidenced success of the simple things approach fills a need of modern times, and holds value for formal and informal education on a broad transnational level.

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Jule Hildmann University of Edinburgh, UK

Part 4 Transnational Latin American Perspectives

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chapter 9

Capacity Building in Low Resource Settings through Continuous Medical Education in Health, Using E-Learning and Medical Simulation Successful Experience from Ecuador Enrique Teran, Michelle Grunauer and Gustavo Molina

1

Purpose

The objective of this chapter is to share a successful experience from the implementation of an innovative learning method in a country on its way to industrialization, where funds are limited, training demands are high and where we have been able to increase health professionals’ competencies and capacity building. We truly believe that our experience might be replicated in other countries of similar characteristics.

2

Background

The first significant change in the reform of medical education was that of Flexner in 1910. He indicated that clinical simulation would be the second great revolution occurring 100 years later and that we would most likely need to wait another century to witness another significant change (Satava, 2008). What we know today as “virtual reality” emerged between the years 1950 and 1960, with the development of the Sensorama Simulator, a machine created by Morton Heilig. This artifact projected images, vibrations, sounds, smells and wind to reproduce 5 different experiences of immersion. The virtual reality definition was developed to describe immersive environments, and the University of Michigan created a virtual reality setting for triage and patient management. In 2003, the Second Life program was developed and quickly gained popularity with nearly ten million participants after just a few years. By 2007, medical simulations were being used in Second Life at Ann Myers Medical Center (Rosen, 2008). Clinical simulation emerges as a new method of learning and evaluating knowledge, skills (technical and non-technical) and attitudes in the health sciences field. Competency-based training is founded on the need for a © koninklijke brill nv, leideN, 2018 | DOI 10.1163/9789004366077_009

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greater adaptation and development of future professionals to health-related demands and social changes. It focuses on learning rather than teaching, on achieving learning goals by integrating knowledge, knowing how to do it, and knowing how to be. Simulation recreates a scenario that is identical to reality, allowing students to solve a clinical case and teachers to analyze and evaluate their performance. Simulation training favors patient safety and prevents them from error. Global trends in medical simulation have added new possibilities to the classical medicine teaching tools, broadening methodological strategies. Simulation training is understood as the reproduction of real-life scenarios and its indefinite repetition, which allows a slow and methodical analysis without conditioning, and most importantly, without exposing a patient to risk and repetitive mistreatment. Thus, it allows for the review of the repercussions of medical error in pursuit of patient safety and at the same time improves the learning curve in medicine. Also, the use of simulators in medical training has increased since its establishment due to the need to be constantly updated in this rapidly developing practice. The first initiative to incorporate the ICT in the educational system with the [email protected] training program was implemented in Ecuador in 2002. This system provided teachers with computers and offered training for pedagogical purposes, aiming to incorporate the daily practice and exercise of ICT by teachers. However, there was never a permanent government policy targeting the issue, and because of governmental changes, the process had no continuity (Ortiz, Ortega, & Peñaherrera, 2012). In 2006, Ecuador immersed itself in the incorporation of ICT in public policy and fundamentally in the educational processes by providing classrooms with technical resources and educational software, as well as teacher training. With an investment of up to 70 million US dollars, there are currently thirtythree so-called Millennium Schools (EMU), thus giving new impetus to the attempt of transforming education in this matter. By 2011, the Ministry of Education distributed the “Agreement on the Integration of ICT in the educational process.” The agreement was to promote the inclusion of ICT at the learning process and improve the quality of education for the population by providing resources for the service of educational institutions, managers, teachers, and incorporate the training of benefactors (Torres & Costa, 2013). This strategy aimed for ICT to be adopted in the educational process with the purpose of improving the production of learning and teaching strategies. In this context, the implementation of Clinical Simulation as a tool within the teaching-learning process in the field of Health Sciences was an integral

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part of ICT. Within the last few years, the revolution has been launched in medicine simulation in Ecuador. In Latin America, as well as worldwide, simulators have served as an adjuvant tool for learning, to the point of even the creation of simulation hospitals that have operating rooms, waiting rooms and arrivals of ambulances, showing how this strategy keeps on growing constantly. However, the scope of the simulation is never intended to replace teaching in the clinical environment, but rather to improve student readiness and to enhance the experience with the patient. In regard to Ecuador, medical schools have made efforts to establish medical simulation centers since roughly the beginning of the 21st century. There is no official record, but around eight of the country’s 23 medical schools have laboratories or simulation centers. At the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, the acquisition of low fidelity mannequins and body parts began a few years after the School of Medicine was created. Since 2010, other institutions began to acquire high-quality simulation equipment, and by 2011, they had already inaugurated simulation centers at the Universidad San Antonio de Machala, the Universidad Catolica de Cuenca (El Mercurio, 2014) and the Universidad Catolica Santiago de Guayaquil (Carriel, 2014). In 2012, the pediatric hospital Roberto Gilbert, which is certified by the American Heart Association and belongs to the Junta Nacional de Beneficencia (a NGO based on Guayaquil), inaugurated the first center of high-end simulation in a hospital environment. Their first acquisition was a digital simulator for the training and practice of placement of peripheral intravenous access, with varying degrees of difficulty, and was expected to be used by physicians, nurses and medical technologists. The other built-in piece of equipment acquired by the hospital was a simulator for laparoscopic surgery with a haptic system. In 2013, Promedent group inaugurated the first private SimCenter in Quito, described as a continuous education space for teaching and academic research. At the same time as the inauguration of the center, Promedent published the book Simulation Laboratory in Health Sciences, containing the essential characteristics of the simulators required for specific scenarios, together with complementary medical equipment. SimCenter consists of a fully integrated software system for advanced patient simulators, such as the Sim series (Man, Mom, Junior, Baby, and Newborn) from Laerdal(c), which in addition to providing the simulating experience, also allows for the providing of audio and video recorded reports of the simulation. This way each practice can be recorded, studied, reproduced, and registered to give the instructor and students all the opportunities to evaluate each learning experience completely (Promedent, 2012).

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In 2013, the Universidad San Francisco de Quito inaugurated its “Medical Simulation Hospital” thanks to an agreement with Johns Hopkins University in the United States. The hospital is located on the ground floor of the clinic area of the Hospital de Los Valles in Cumbaya. It occupies approximately 250 square meters and has been equipped with all the necessary instruments found at any real hospital. The Sim mannequins at the hospital simulate pediatric, obstetric and critical emergency situations. Lastly, in this same year, the Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja was able to establish its simulation laboratory, which has an area of 220 square meters for the treatment of critical patients, obstetrics and pediatrics (Carriel & Ramirez, 2012). Higher education in the present century has had a great influence on the process of teaching and learning of ICT, especially in the field of medicine. We currently see it as a new methodology, which allows students both in undergraduate and graduate programs to develop skills and abilities that are free from iatrogenic patient treatment. This teaching concept has been growing all around the world and is now developing in Latin America too, allowing for the instruction of techniques and skills to health professionals, helping them to be competitive in various areas. While there are countries that have already made great progress in this regard, such as Brasil, Colombia and Chile, there are other countries in the region that are just beginning their efforts to be at the same levels of others and fulfilling high quality standards in the matter. Ecuador is one of these nations and is currently experiencing a time of renewal in education, seeking to provide the necessary tools to its students so they can compete globally. Today, as previously mentioned, around eight medical schools at the national level have implemented high fidelity simulation centers that allow for a more integral education where residents, interns, postgraduates, and nurses can participate. These centers are being used not only as part of the academic curriculum, but also as an updating and re-qualifying tool for specialists. Furthermore, in addition to the great popularity of the method as a learning tool, simulation has also placed the patient in a passive position at the time of student practice safeguarding its integrity, but putting him in an active, safer and better position, when a previously simulation trained physician encounters him in real situations. Finally, although numerous positive features of medical simulation exist, it is also important to keep in mind the limitations that this tool may have. For example, it is costly to implement a simulation center. In addition to having limited trained personnel and small areas destined for its development, the high cost could negatively impact the possibility for its inclusion in academic curricula.

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Our History

Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), established in 1988, is a private liberal arts university in Ecuador located in Cumbaya, just outside of Quito. With over 7,000 students and hundreds of international visiting students each year, it is one of the premier destinations for international students in South America. USFQ has over 100 bilateral exchange partnerships with universities in the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Australia, Asia and Africa (USFQ, 2017). USFQ is proud to be the highest rated educational institution with the most scientific, artistic, and humanistic research production in Ecuador, according to the Scimago Iberoamerican Institutions Ranking 2017. According to the QS Latin American University Ranking 2017, USFQ is the only Ecuadorian university among the 45 best in Latin America. Furthermore, USFQ is the only university in the world with scientific stations in the Amazon rainforest (USFQ Tiputini Biodiverse Station) and the Galapagos islands (USFQ GAIAS and GSC). The USFQ College of Health Sciences includes the School of Medicine, School of Public Health and Nutrition, School of Dentistry, and School of Veterinary Medicine. The School of Medicine was established in 1994 with the mission to prepare professionals in the different branches of health, with a formal education in Humanities and Liberal Arts, along with an excellent medical academic training. Its primary goal is to provide society with health professionals, endowed with critical thinking. In search of this principle, the School of Medicine took an innovative and pioneering approach by adopting the andragogic method of Problem-Based Learning (PBL), where the student learns to develop competencies to solve cases. In PBL, the students’ medical school training is based on real life medical situations and scenarios. When the doctors trained at the USFQ acquire these competencies, they can respond to and satisfy healthcare needs using a comprehensive approach with the use of new technologies, always basing their practices on what would best benefit the patient at the national and international level (Universidad San Francisco de Quito, 2016). Since PBL has a constructivist methodology (Tecnológico de Monterey, 2016), the training of our students in acquiring their medical competencies is encouraging. However, after analyzing the evaluation system, it was determined that despite it being a coherent learning style, deficits were confirmed in the skills and abilities component. For this reason, the School of Medicine strengthened the PBL method through Structured Objective Clinical Evaluation (SOCE) in which the use of Simulators responds to the lack of

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the previously mentioned necessities and generates an improvement of the evaluation within the teaching-learning process. (Molina, 2013). Both the PBL and the SOCE, along with the implementation of Clinical Simulation, share a common principle: the generation and evaluation of a constructivist type of knowledge, allowing for the development of competencies with domains in the cognitive area that encompass the different scales of Bloom’s taxonomy. In the same way, the SOCE and the implementation of the Clinical Simulation are tools that together promote an evaluation of the integral, participatory, and organized learning, allowing the assessment of skills and abilities. Also, this model strengthens the teaching-learning process that students receive at the School of Medicine at the USFQ. This proposal imposes a new challenge to strengthening the evaluation of the medical students graduating from the School of Medicine at the USFQ, and at the same time, it elevates the standard of learning taking place. The model follows the ideals set forth by the medical schools in Europe, as well as in North America where the system helps students acquire skills that go beyond scientific knowledge during their academic training. The physician’s commitment is also strengthened through each patient individually and with the community at large. Based on this successful and innovative experience, the School of Medicine at the USFQ has implemented through its Simulation Hospital, a series of training techniques at the clinical level that optimize the medical development. On the other hand, continuous training and practicing in health sciences is essential to ensure a positive impact in health determinants. Unfortunately, the access to educational activities is difficult and limited in low resource settings. High costs related to the setting of some of these practices and the lack of time availability from participants, as well as not enough trained personnel, are among the leading causes that limit its sustainability. For these reasons, training alternatives, i.e. e-learning platforms, were implemented in industrialized countries some time ago. However, in some of the Latin American countries, particularly those with low resources, like Ecuador, the absence of specific health training programs in Academic Institutions made that process even slower. With this in mind, the School of Medicine at the USFQ is the only academic institution that has offered formal health training programs, beginning several years ago, by implementing our virtual classroom for evidence-based courses in health. Since then, more than 10 courses have been offered, ranging from short-term classes lasting 3 months up to courses as long as 18 months in specific and diverse areas highly needed in our country. Interestingly, soon after this initiative started, we realized that on-line courses might be complemented with face-to-face sessions dedicated

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to clinical simulation. This innovative approach, at least in our hands, has shown to be both attractive for participants and effective for the acquisition of competencies. Furthermore, this approach has enabled us to increase capacity building in our country.

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Maternal Morbidity and Mortality

Ecuador, in alignment with the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty rates to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015, a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions – has committed to reducing maternal mortality by 2015 to 29.3 per 100,000 live births, but unfortunately the statistics about maternal-neonatal mortality in Ecuador indicate that one in five pregnancies and one in ten teenager pregnancies end up in death (United Nations, 2015). Most women and newborns who die are poor, indigenous or are Afro-descendants in rural areas. Unfortunately, it has been identified that most of these deaths occur due to a delay in decision-making, lack of recognition of signs of maternal-neonatal danger, and gender inequity. Additionally, this situation is aggravated by the reality of not receiving care on time due to the lack of healthcare service availability, and also because health personnel do not have the adequate training to attend deliveries and manage obstetric or neonatal complications. Therefore, it is necessary to implement comprehensive strategies that consider the population, the determinants of maternal and neonatal mortality, as well as the social, geographical, and economic accessibility of communities. Ecuador has made considerable progress in reducing maternal death, with figures ranging from 92 x 100,000 live births for the period of 1993–2000, to 53 x 100,000 live births for the year 2006 (Ministerio de Salud Publica & Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos, 2007). According to the Epidemiological Surveillance System of the Ministry of Public Health for Maternal Mortality, hemorrhaging is the leading cause of maternal death in 38% of cases, followed by pregnancy-induced hypertension and eclampsia in 26% and sepsis in 21% of cases (Ministerio de Salud Pública del Ecuador, 2012). Based on this environment, a strategy has been proposed to strengthen the competencies and improve the performance of human talent through sustainable educational strategies that focus on epidemiology, contraceptive methods, pregnancy care, screening and treatment of obstetric risks, culturally appropriate delivery care, care of the puerperium, normal newborn care, care of obstetric complications and neonatal clinics. These approaches are

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being coordinated with the country’s universities and provincial and national hospitals. USFQ proposed to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health a series of selfdesignated courses based on the capabilities of our Simulation Hospital. Those programs were designed to take place for two full days of practice, based on simulation scenarios supported by the theoretical content reviewed in advance by the participants using an e-learning platform. One of the critical public health issues, of which the Ministry of Health is well aware, is that at their first level of attention centers (or their “community health care facilities”), there are not always enough nor well-trained obstetricians, physicians, nurses, and health promoters. Therefore, our training courses were always aiming to work with teams of different branches of health care providers rather than with a specific kind of professional. Although it is still premature to draw any significant conclusions from these trainings, the results comparing the participants’ competencies before and after the training session demonstrated an important improvement. The methodology implemented was well accepted and generated an obvious training commitment by the participants. Our proposal was initially endorsed by the local branch of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Ecuador. The Ministry of Health also directly funded a couple of our programs. This is a promising initiative, but it still requires joined efforts and government support as part of its policy on reducing maternal mortality. Since then, the Ministry of Public Health of Ecuador decided to launch a nationwide training program that will be run by a consortium of several universities, both public and private.

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Neonatal and Child Morbidity and Mortality

Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC) is almost impossible to afford for patients who need it the most: children. 6.3 million children who require PPC – 98% of whom live in low medium income countries – die annually, but only about 10% can access it (Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance & World Health Organization, 2014). Similarly, of the 10–20% of critically ill children ever admitted to hospitals in these settings, about 30–50% die during the first day because of limited resources and delays in diagnosis (Baker, 2009). In poorresource settings like Ecuador, high rates of morbidity and mortality are common among seriously ill children because of the lack of infrastructure and trained specialists (Molyneux, 2009; Murthy & Adhikari, 2013; Riviello, Letchford, Achieng, & Newton, 2011).

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Our Integrated Model of Care (IMOC) education models are based on the understanding that PPC enhances the quality of life for patients, their families, and the professionals who care for them (Adams et al., 2008; Brennan, 2007; Cordero-Reyes & Grunauer, 2016; Stewart, 1995; WHO, 2016). For example, various studies have found an association between the use of PPC and an increase of positive outcomes in patients, better management of symptoms, reductions in parental stress and anxiety, and improved communication (Association for Children’s Palliative Care, 2013; Curtis, Foster, Mitchell, & Van, 2016; Davidson et al., 2007; Gans et al., 2012; Somerville, 2001; Stewart, 1995). Furthermore, PPC is appropriate in all stages of disease (Fig. 9.1) and is highly effective when used in conjunction with curative treatments (Cordero-Reyes & Grunauer, 2016; Frager, 1997; Gregoire & Frager, 2006; Michelson & Steinhorn, 2007; Somerville, 2001). Taking into account the documented positive-impacts of PPC and the lack of consistent PPC care for the world’s most vulnerable children, we consider that teaching this model of care is imperative to ensure worldwide access to the highest standard of health and dignity.

figure 9.1 Predictable opportunities to apply palliative care at the PICU. A – delivering bad news; B – symptom management; C – shared decision making; D – end of life care; E – death and grief, and F – recovery

Although PPC is recognized as a basic human right, insufficient infrastructure, a lack of trained specialists, and socioeconomic factors have hindered its development in low-middle income countries like Ecuador (Adams et al., 2008; Baker, 2009; Brennan, 2007; Gwyther, Brennan, & Harding, 2009; Human Rights Watch, 2009). For example, the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance (WPCA) describes Ecuador as having isolated resources related to a “limited provision” of pediatric care (Worldwide

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Palliative Care Alliance & World Health Organization, 2014). Similarly, only 25% of Ecuadorian medical schools offer some type of pediatric palliative care education, and none offer accreditation (Pastrana et al., 2012). The same challenges that impede PPC in our country impede Pediatric Critical Care (PCC). In Ecuador, about 33 trained Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) specialists, zero PPC specialists, and 36 PICU beds are expected to serve a growing pediatric population of about 5,000,000 (UNICEF, 2013). The lack of trained specialists “is the reason why most critically ill children are cared for outside of a PICU” by medical professionals who are not pediatric intensivists (Biskup, Philip, & Grunauer, 2016). Because of such constraints, 14.8% of children die in PICU’s in Latin America, whereas in Europe, where there is better infrastructure and specialist training, only about 5% die (Campos-Mino, Sasbon, & von Dessauer, 2012). Unsurprisingly, our infrastructure is insufficient to address Ecuador’s growing PCC and PPC needs. In the School of Medicine at USFQ, we established highly innovative continuing medical education programs to train doctors with no formal training in PCC, but who frequently care for critically ill children. Through our programs, they became competent in implementing an Integrated Model of Care (IMOC), thereby dramatically improving the availability and quality of care for pediatric patients both nationally and internationally. Our IMOC is the first of its kind to combine PCC and PPC, along with a family-centered approach into a single model of care, and to mandate the application of PPC to all PICU patients, independent of their prognoses (Cordero-Reyes & Grunauer, 2016). Through a combination of Socratic discussions, the use of high fidelity simulation mannequins, and with hands-on learning and practice-based learning, participants became competent in the following objectives: – Define the importance of an IMOC that incorporates PPC in the PICU with a human rights focus. – Identify opportunities for the implementation of PPC in different phases of disease. – Describe a model of continuous medical education that increases the number of professionals competent in the attention and integrated care of critically ill children in low-resource settings. – Learn how to offer the best care available that is evidence based, patient and family centered, cost-effective and that incorporates a child-right approach. Our first education model, the Laude in Pediatric Critical Care and Emergency Medicine (PCCEM), was launched in 2013 (Biskup, Philip, & Grunauer, 2016). American and Ecuadorian doctors created a 10-month certificate program to train medical professionals to implement a family-centered IMOC in PCCEM

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cases. The program employed a family-centered approach by integrating PCC, mental health, and PPC. Training techniques included pre-readings, simulation cases/drills, didactic activities, and practice-based learning (Biskup, Philip, & Grunauer, 2016). Although highly successful, this program turned out to be too costly and time-consuming to continue for more than 2 years in our setting. As such, in 2015 we replaced the Laude with the Advanced Pediatric Life Support (APLS) + IMOC training program, a continuing education model originally developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Emergency Medicine to train professionals in PCCEM. The program incorporates pain management, communication of bad news, end-of-life care, PPC, and family-centered practices. The success of these programs, local evidence, and international recommendations demonstrate that the IMOC should be incorporated into continuous medical education, particularly in low-middle income countries. To begin with, the World Health Organization defines PPC as the following: (1) Palliative care for children is the active total care of the child’s body, mind and spirit, and also involves giving support to the family; (2) It begins when an illness is diagnosed and continues regardless of whether or not a child receives treatment directed at the disease; (3) Health providers must evaluate and alleviate a child’s physical, psychological, and social distress; (4) Effective palliative care requires a broad multidisciplinary approach that includes the family, makes use of available community resources and can be successfully implemented even if resources are limited; and (5) It can be provided in tertiary care facilities, in community health centers and even in children’s homes (WHO, 2016). Upon the release of WHO PPC recommendations, our local PICU team initiated the first study to test the application of this definition in a Latin American context. Based on our study about PPC in our PICU, we discovered that utilizing the IMOC is highly effective in fulfilling the complex needs of critically ill children. We used the PaPaS PPC screening scale to retroactively determine which of our patients fulfilled the criteria to receive PPC (CorderoReyes & Grunauer, 2016). Just as the WHO definition asserted, we found that all children needed PPC regardless of their disease and prognosis. This evidence, in combination with the startling lack of consistent PPC in LMIC’s as discussed in the following section, demonstrates the importance of teaching our IMOC to other professionals. Our highly successful training programs are a statement to the potential to reduce child morbidity and mortality rates in low-middle income countries like Ecuador by implementing relatively cheap interventions without investing in new equipment and spaces. Teaching proper emergency triage techniques, employing evidence-based practices, taking special note of pediatric patients

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in non-pediatric specific ICU’s, supporting team cohesion, and improving response time are all inexpensive interventions that support child health. Additionally, in our experience, creating teams that are committed with ensuring continuity of care, follow-ups, and proper transfer of care are highly effective measures to improve critically ill children’s outcomes. Both the Laude and APLS were highly effective in improving national PPC, PCC, and PCCEM capacity. For example, in the two years of the Ladue’s life, 30 physicians earned a certificate in the program (not a specialist degree), boosting Ecuador’s PCCEM capacity by 50% (Biskup, Philip, & Grunauer, 2016). Furthermore, in a post-program survey, 100% of our participants reported feeling ready to provide better care for critically ill pediatric patients (Biskup, Philip, & Grunauer, 2016). Also, if a train-the-trainer model were utilized to further spread this knowledge, it appears that achieving national coverage in these specialties could take around 3 years (Biskup, Philip, & Grunauer, 2016). Despite the difficulties of implementing such training in under-resourced centers, we witnessed the potential of the train-the-trainer model for further spreading learning when one of our participants was able to successfully train her own PICU team in several of the topic areas on which we focused during the program (Biskup, Philip, & Grunauer, 2016). Such successes indicate the future potential of our existing training programs. Regrettably, despite the program’s success, our funder’s priorities changed, and we were subsequently forced to discontinue the program and to implement a more financially feasible model. Our alternative, APLS + IMOC, was highly successful In just 12 months, 168 participants from 20 Ecuadorian provinces, as well as one from Peru, were trained. The group improved their APLS pre-and post-test scores drastically, increasing by about 10 points after participating in a considerably shorter program consisting of independent pre-readings beginning one month in advance, a two-day skill training session, and implementation of best practices in their local health scenarios. Without making formal policy changes, if continuing with the proposed training, we would be able to increase national PCCEM/PPC capacity by 560%. Such low-cost innovations demonstrate new pathways for improving child health despite systemic obstacles like policies that may otherwise limit potential health transformations. 6

Innovative Training in Acute and Chronic Diseases and with NonMedical Audiences.

In Ecuador, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and hypertension are responsible for the majority of the patients discharged from hospitals in the last two

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decades (Ministerio de Salud Pública del Ecuador, 2013). Related to this, the National Survey about Health and Nutrition (ENSANUT) (Freire, Ramirez, Belmont, Mendieta, Silva, Romero, Sáenz, Pineiros, Gómez, & Monge, 2013) conducted by the Ministry of Public Health of Ecuador showed that the prevalence of diabetes, in the population between 10 to 59 years old, is 2.7%, but it increases starting from the third decade of life until reaching a 10.3% in people 50 years old. Unfortunately, the number of endocrinologists in Ecuador is very limited, and they are concentrated in the three biggest cities in the country. For that reason, two years ago, the School of Medicine at USFQ developed a course entitled “Continuous medical education about diabetes and its complications,” a course encompassing everything from the diagnose to the management of the acute and chronic complications in 10 on-line modules, plus a simulation session. There were two hundred participants, mainly general practitioners from twelve of the twenty-five provinces in Ecuador. After 12 months, self-evaluations revealed that they were more competent in managing diabetic patients. This “update” course had the endorsement of the Ministry of Public Health and now is available on a yearly basis. A similar experience was carried out to spread the use of Guidelines for the Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults elaborated by the Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8) (James et al., 2014). For that, we developed a set of three simulation scenarios focusing on the complications of not treating early hypertension. In this program, we had two hundred participants, once again mainly general practitioners from all around the country. Interestingly, the feedback given by participants at the end of the course emphasized the positive aspects of learning based on simulation rather that only having theoretical lectures. With these initial approaches, during the last year the School of Medicine launched a very ambitious e-learning program for general practitioners consisting in 15 modules covering diverse but useful topics. The expected duration was fifteen months, and our expectation was to recruit three hundred physicians. However, a month after the program began, we received more than two hundred additional requests to participate. This fact showed that physicians, particularly those whose practices were located outside the biggest cities, were eager to receive continuous medical education, particularly if the offer came from an academic institution like ours. It was also proved that this strategy is well accepted among specialists, who are also looking for continuous education that does not disturb and does not demand much time out of their daily practices. In this sense, our first approach was an e-learning program on osteoarthritis management for orthopedists in which we had 30 participants in a six-month period, and

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the second one was an e-learning program about evidence-based medicine (EBM) targeted to oncologists. In this EBM program, there were fifteen modules to be covered in six months, and we had 90 participants, including two physicians from Peru. More recently, we developed a new training course combining four modules of e-learning and clinical simulation sessions for general practitioners focusing on the management of airway infections in pediatric populations, urinary infections in gynecology, as well as inflammatory and neuropathic pain. A simulation session includes, the development of a “clinical scenario” consisting of the use of high fidelity mannequins in a predefined sequence of actions and answers to interactions, together with laboratory and image results in a digital version. The instructor’s role is to know the learning objectives for the scenario, to elaborate on the clinical situation for participants, then to have them interact with each other. Of course, instructors will continue providing information as requested or activate/deactivate functions of the mannequin. All sessions are video recorded for further group analysis in what is known as a “debrief” session. For this initiative, we counted with sixty participants from all around the country. It is very interesting to mention that at the beginning of the course, the participants were somehow skeptical on the beneficial results of such a proposal, however once the second session was open, all the participants were very motivated and willing to continue participating. When the course ended, their feedback was very positive, and they mentioned that their knowledge improved and their practices as well. Based on that, this training course will be repeated on a routine basis. Finally, but not least, we decided to design some educational activities for different audiences like nurses and pharmacists. Then, we facilitated two different training courses, once again combining e-learning with clinical simulation for the population of nurses at private hospitals in Quito, having a total of 220 participants. Most of them were not familiar with virtual environments, but after a short introductory session, they found it not too complicated and soon became frequent users of the software. It was surprising for us, and confirming, to witness the flexibility that e-learning offers in terms of time and self-controlled studying tempo. It was greatly appreciated by health professionals who had to rotate working activities. All of the participants agreed that using only class time for learning would make it almost impossible to complete the program. More recently, and in the same sense, we have developed a specific “update” e-learning program for pharmacists working at hospitals, which started with 150 participants. Thus far, 95% of them are up-to-date on the proposed activities.

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Transnationalness

It is important to consider that Universidad San Francisco de Quito is based in Quito, but our e-learning plus simulation programs were offered nationwide, and there were always participants from other cities abroad. In the participants’ words, it was a big advantage to be able to work from a remote location and attend on-site sessions eventually. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that although our programs have had a national focus, their success throughout Ecuador’s multiethnic territories indicates that our programs are highly applicable to a variety of other environments. In this sense, Ecuador is a highly diverse country, home to more than 14 indigenous and minority groups, which comprise about 22% of the population (Central Intelligence Agency, 2016). The success of our strategies despite the differences between these ethnic groups, as well as between Ecuador’s socioeconomic classes and rural/urban populations, indicate that they are highly adaptable. Based on this national success, it was decided to explore the interest that these programs might have among international participants. Therefore, promotion was done in some of the Latin-American countries, particularly Peru and Colombia. So far, there have been few participants from those countries. Although they recognize the relevance of the contents and the positive impact on their knowledge, it is essential that local academic institutions endorse these programs. It is important to remark the major differences among countries in Latin America. These experiences might not be transferable to the whole region, but they would definitely be a good example for countries like those in Central America, such as Peru and Bolivia, which are closer to the socioeconomic status of Ecuador. Interestingly, a modified Delphi assessment of the learning needs of professionals in pediatric acute care settings in Tanzania and Ecuador revealed that even highly adaptable models like ours need to be tailored to meet needs in different contexts (Grunauer, Mgelea, Fabara, Campos-Mino, & Fussell, 2014). While our IMOC is an excellent base for providing holistic care to critically ill patients, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. The nature of critical and palliative pediatric care demands that treatment be tailored to individual patients and their families, as well as each country’s specific needs. A model developed in one context could never be 100% transferable to another. This previously mentioned issue is best described by the discovery that the only topic in common between Tanzania and Ecuador was sepsis, as we described in our study (Grunauer, Mgelea, Fabara, Campos-Mino, & Fussell, 2014). To manage such differences and teach professionals how to work in diverse contexts, in our courses we have focused heavily on the importance of family involvement and spiritual, cultural and emotional integration as

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deemed appropriate by the patient and their family. The flexibility and cultural sensitivity built into our model of continuous medical education about IMOC makes it positive and highly applicable to other contexts. In conclusion, thanks to the improvement and the ease of global access through mobile devices and internet connectivity nowadays for physicians and health care professionals living in developing countries, e-learning is a good and feasible way to receive and provide continuous education and improve healthcare delivery systems to all kinds of populations. This, along with proper simulation training, not only better protects the patient from possible harm through malpractice, but it also places the patient in an ideal position when being treated in the future by a physician or health care provider that has been trained with both of these strategies. However, despite the positive aspects of these strategies, it continues to be a challenge for the academia to set up all necessary conditions to satisfy the customer learning expectations, the environment health learning goals, and at the end, offer attractive, interesting, useful, innovative and updated programs, that at the same time are both cost and time effective.

References Adams, V., Bertolino, M., Ddungu, H., De Lima, L., Finch, L., George, R., Green, C., Gwyther, L., Joranson, D. E., Merriman, A., Minatel, M., Mosoiu, D., Mpanga-Sebuyira, L., Mwangi-Powel, F., Rajagopal, M. R., Rubach, M., Scholten, W., Soyannwo, O., & Wenk, R. (2008). Access to pain relief: An essential human right. A report for World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2007. Help the hospices for the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance. Journal of Pain & Palliaitive Care Pharmacotherapy , 22(2), 101–129. Association for Children’s Palliative Care. (2013). A framework for the development of an integrated care pathway for children and young people with life threatening or lifelimiting conditions and their families (3rd ed.). Bristol: ACT. Baker, T. (2009). Critical care in low-income countries. Tropical Medicine & International Health , 14(2), 143–148. Biskup, T., Philip, P., & Grunauer, M. (2016). Lessons from the design and implementation of a pediatric critical care and emergency medicine training program in a low resource country—the South American experience. Journal of Pediatric Intensive Care, 6(1), 60–65. Brennan, F. (2007). Palliative care as an international human right. Journal of Pain & Symptom Management, 33(5), 494–499. Campos-Mino, S., Sasbon, J. S., & von Dessauer, B. (2012). Pediatric intensive care in Latin America. Medicina Intensiva, 36(1), 3–10.

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Carriel, J. (2014). Centro de simulación médica de la Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil : Una propuesta de planificación estratégica. Guayaquil: Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil. Carriel, J., & Ramirez, G. (2012). Prácticas de simulación en medicina: Ventajas, limitantes, recuento histórico y perspectiva ecuatoriana. Medicina, 17(4), 285–291. Central Intelligence Agency. (2016). The world factbook: Ecuador. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ec.html Cordero-Reyes, A., & Grunauer, M. (2016, June 5–8). The World Health Organization is right: The importance of an integrated model of care through the continuum of attention in the pediatric intensive care unit. Paper presented at: 8th World Congress of Pediatric and Critical Care, Toronto. Curtis, K., Foster, K., Mitchell, R., & Van, C. (2016). Models of care delivery for families of critically ill children: An integrative review of international literature. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 31(3), 330–341. Davidson, J. E., Powers, K., Hedayat, K. M., Tieszen, M., Kon, A. A., Shepard, E., Spuhler, V., Todres, I. D., Levy, M., Barr, J., Ghandi, R., Hirsch, G., & Armstrong, D. (2007). Clinical practice guidelines for support of the family in the patient-centered intensive care unit. American College of Critical Care Medicine Task Force 2004– 2005. Critical Care Medicine, 35(2), 605–622. El Mercurio. (2014, Julio 4). Tecnología facilita el contacto entre pacientes y especialistas. El Mercurio. Frager, G. (1997). Palliative care and terminal care of children. Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Clinics of North America, 6(4), 889–909. Freire, W., Ramirez, M., Belmont, P., Mendieta, M., Silva, K., Romero, N., Sáenz, K., Pineiros, P., Gómez, L., & Monge, R. (2013). Encuesta nacional de salud y nutrición del Ecuador. ENSANUT-ECU 2011–2013. Resumen Ejecutivo. Tomo I. Quito: Ministerio de Salud Pública/Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos. Gans, D., Kominski, G. F., Roby, D. H., Diamant, A. L., Chen, X., Lin, W., Hohe, N. (2012). Better outcomes, lower costs: Palliative care program reduces stress, costs of care for children with life-threatening conditions. Policy Brief UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, PB2012(3), 1–8. Gregoire, M. C., & Frager, G. (2006). Ensuring pain relief for children at the end of life. Pain Research & Management, 11(3), 163–171. Grunauer, M., Mgelea, E., Fabara, S., Campos-Mino, S., & Fussell, M. (2014). Modified Delphi assessment of need-based learning priorities for capacity building in pediatric acute care in Ecuador: A comparison with Tanzania. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 25(4), 144. Gwyther, L., Brennan, F., & Harding, R. (2009). Advancing palliative care as a human right. Journal of Pain & Symptom Management, 38(5), 767–774. Human Rights Watch. (2009). “Please, do not make us suffer any more…”: Access to pain treatment as a human right. New York, NY: Human Rights Watch.

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James, P. A., Oparil, S., Carter, B. L., Cushman, W. C., Dennison-Himmelfarb, C., Handler, J., Lackland, D. T., LeFevre, M. L., MacKenzie, T. D., Ogedegbe, O., Smith, S. C., Svetkey, L. P., Taler, S. J., Townsend, R. R., Wright, J. T., Narva, A. S., & Ortiz, E. (2014). 2014 evidence-based guideline for the management of high blood pressure in adults. Report from the Panel Members Appointed to the Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8). JAMA, 311(5), 507–520. Michelson, K. N., & Steinhorn, D. M. (2007). Pediatric end-of-life issues and palliative care. Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine, 8(3), 212–219. Ministerio de Salud Pública del Ecuador. (2012). Indicadores básicos de salud: Ecuador 2012. Quito: Ministerio de Salud Publica. Ministerio de Salud Pública del Ecuador. (2013). Anuario epidemiológico enfermedades crónicas: Tableu software. Quito: MSP. Ministerio de Salud Publica & Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos. (2007). Indicadores básicos de salud. Ecuador: Sistema Común de Información. Molina, G. (2013). Fortalecimiento del proceso de evaluación en el método de Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas (ABP), mediante la Evaluación Clínica Objetiva Estructurada (ECOE) en el módulo de mujer del programa de medicina del Colegio de Ciencias de la salud (COCSA) de la U. Quito: PUCE. Molyneux, E. (2009). Emergency care for children in resource-constrained countries. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 103(1), 11–15. Murthy, S., & Adhikari, N. (2013). Global health care of the critically ill in low-resource settings. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 10(5), 509–513. Ortiz, A., Ortega, J., & Peñaherrera, M. (2012). Percepciones de profesores y estudiantes sobre las TIC: Un estudio de caso. Revista Electrónica de Tecnología Educativa, 41, 1–15. Pastrana, T., De Lima, L., Wenk, R., Eisenchlas, J., Monti, C., Rocafort, J., & Centeno, C. (2012). Atlas of Palliative Care in Latin America (1st ed.). Houston, TX: IAHPC Press. Promedent. (2012). Promedent cia. Ltda. Retrieved December 5, 2016, from http://www.promedentecuador.com/emergencia_lugpublicos.html?pais=05 Riviello, E., Letchford, S., Achieng, L., & Newton, M. (2011). Critical care in resourcepoor settings: Lessons learned and future directions. Critical Care Medicine, 39(4), 860–867. Rosen, K. (2008). The history of medical simulation. Journal of Critical Care, 23(2), 157–166. Satava, R. (2008). Historical review of surgical simulation: A personal perspective. World Journal of Surgery, 32, 141–148. Somerville, M. A. (2001). Human rights and human ethics: Health and health care: Death talk: The case against euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Montreal: McGillQueen’s University Press. Stewart, M. (1995). Effective physician-patient communication and health outcomes: A review. Candian Medical Association Journal, 152(9), 1423–1433.

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Tecnológico de Monterey. (2016). Centro virtual de técnicas didácticas: Qué es aprendizaje basado. Retrieved from http://sitios.itesm.mx/va/diie/tecnicasdidacticas/2_5.htm Torres, R., & Costa, C. (2013). Formacion continua, aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida y PLES. In L. Castañeda & J. Adell (Eds.), Entornos personales de aprendizaje: Claves para el ecosistema educativo en red (pp. 52–85). Alcoy: Marfil. UNICEF. (2013). Ecuador: Statistics. New York, NY. United Nations. (2015). The millennium development goals report 2015. New York, NY: United Nations. Universidad San Francisco de Quito. (2016). Carrera de medicina. Retrieved from http://www.usfq.edu.ec/programas_academicos/colegios/cocsa/escuelas/medicina/ carreras/Paginas/medicina_vigente.aspx USFQ. (2017). Universidad San Francisco de Quito. Retrieved from http://www.usfq.edu.ec/ sobre_la_usfq/Paginas/Historia.aspx WHO. (2016). WHO definition of Palliative Care. Geneva: WHO. Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance & World Health Organization. (2014). Global atlas of palliative care at the end of life. London: Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance.

Enrique Teran Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador Michelle Grunauer Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador Gustavo Molina Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador

chapter 10

Letting Go of Teacher Power: Innovative Democratic Assessment María Dolores Lasso

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Introduction

The current educational discourse focuses on the relevance of providing students with opportunities to acquire their own voice and become active participants in the decision making processes (Hill Collins, 2013; Sleeter & Grant, 2009; Sleeter, 2005; Ladson-Billings, 1998). Having the opportunity to explore educational settings and collaborate with people with diverse backgrounds allows individuals to gain a broader understanding about the world and their role as part of society. Transnational education refers to higher education qualifications offered to learners located in different countries. It implies an educational service that crosses political boundaries and fosters international collaboration, and is often referred to as borderless education (Healey, 2015). Transnational education is gradually becoming responsible for providing students and the academic community with opportunities to build connections, to learn and to collaborate with people from different geographical and cultural contexts (Greenholtz, 2014). Learning assessment is an integral part of the learning process in a time when democratic educational practices in the transnational context are essential in order to promote the active engagement of students in presenting solutions for global and local challenges. A profound analysis of the way in which educational assessment is being implemented today needs to take place to ensure that educational institutions prepare students for democratic living. The individual and collective ability to cope effectively and adapt to different learning environments and diverse cultural settings is highly appreciated in the globalized domain where current students must learn to thrive. Teachers and students must learn to reflect about themselves, their beliefs and their worldviews in order to be able to let go of stereotypes and preconceptions that might be obstructing their ability to adapt and cope. Consistent with democratic educational practices, transnational education allows students from diverse contexts to interact, broaden their understandings about the world and acquire experiences that enable them to collaborate and appreciate © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi 10.1163/9789004366077_010

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differences in a rapidly changing world (Ahamer & Jekel, 2010). The chapter will evaluate the roles of power and control within the constructivist learning environments, specifically focusing on the teacher power within democratic assessment practices as a way to strengthen and innovate transnational education teaching approaches. Incorporating the proposed new assessment practice allows teachers to explore an innovative assessment approach, but also allows them to foster democratic education. The following sections will integrate the views from different scholars about the constructivist approach, democratic education, and specific ways in which the educators can incorporate democratic assessment in diverse educational settings. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the following two questions: How can teachers foster democratic assessment practices within their teaching environment? How can we create opportunities for students to become more accountable for their individual actions and their academic progress?

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Discourse and Purpose of Higher Education

Some authors believe that higher education has lost its purpose and they challenge the higher education institutions’ need to reclaim it (Benson & Boyd, 2015; Felten & Johansson, 2014; Bok, 2015; Saltmarsh & Hartley, 2012; Conndliffe & Lewis, 2011; Barnett, 2009). Different causes are attributed to this loss of purpose, among others, lack of internal and external collaborative efforts to attain public good through common goals (Benson & Boyd, 2015), models of higher education governance and higher education massification without proper planning and support (Bok, 2015), lack of initiatives to promote individual social engagement and civic responsibilities (Saltmarsh & Hartley, 2012; Conndliffe & Lewis, 2011; Barnett, 2009), and purpose of education based on returning investment in contrast to providing students with opportunities to transform their lives (Felten & Johansson, 2014). Some state that higher education curriculum should not only emphasize in academic and professional development but also provide students with opportunities for personal transformation that will enable them to commit as professionals to contribute to the public good (Brooman, Darwent, & Pimor, 2015; Roberts, 2015). According to McArthur (2010), “Higher education should be contributing to the social, cultural, economic and political enrichment of the entire society” (p. 747). Bannier (2016) explains, “Properly designed and carefully implemented, transnational education programs hold the potential to greatly assist developing nations in expanding their intellectual infrastructure” (p. 83). Transnational education is a growing phenomenon that can certainly serve as a catalyst for access to democratic educational practices that will allow

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traditionally marginalized populations to experience democracy and learn to gain their own voice as part of the process of becoming actively engaged in social change. Finding ways to effectively assess our students as we continue to strengthen the existing and new initiatives for exchange and collaboration is an important challenge for educators in the transnational education settings. Conndliffe and Lewis (2011) challenge the fact that in order to maintain their privileges, hegemonic powers lack initiatives to confront the world’s social problems. The authors explain that higher education in the past decades has been focused on meeting quality standards and has lost the focus of its true public and civil purpose. They state that higher education should become “the place where individuals are given tools to act as responsible citizens” (p. 69). Felten and Johansson (2014) describe that during higher education, students not only mature but also develop their individual identity. The authors claim that everyone undergoes an individual transformation process during college. They appreciate the potential of higher education to foster future generations to become critical thinkers and socially engaged citizens, understanding that the transformation process takes place in individual ways, and generalizations are difficult to make. “The transformative learning process should help students build an identity rooted in their own sense of purpose and meaning of the world, but it is not a uniform path walked by all” (Felten & Johansson, 2014, p. 15). The higher education curriculum development process integrates elements that help students to overcome their weaknesses and become better citizens during this transformative stage of their lives. According to Barnett (2009), If a curriculum in higher education is understood to be an educational vehicle to promote a student’s development, and if a curriculum in higher education is also understood to be built in large part around a project of knowledge, then the issue arises as to the links between knowledge and student being and becoming. (p. 429) One of the challenges for higher education is to foster transnationalism without disregarding what the individual needs, the voices of local students, communities and the social context can contribute for higher education improvement in order to serve its purpose as a catalyst for social change and better living conditions, not only locally but internationally.

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The Transnationalness of Higher Education

When understanding higher education, it is important to consider trends and patterns that emerge simultaneously in different regions of the world.

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According to Altbach, Reisberg, and Rumbel (2009), higher education is a complex and fluid environment constantly being molded by globalization and internationalization presenting opportunities and challenges. Casinader (2014) explains that globalization is a naturally occurring phenomena that takes place through communicational and technological developments that influence the existence of transnational education. Altbach, Reisberg, and Rumbel (2009) argue that internationalization emerges as a response to globalization, but it does not occur naturally in higher education. Therefore there exists the need of transnational education as a structured “process of integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension in the purpose, functions, or delivery of postsecondary education” (Knight, 2003, p. 2, cited in Altbach, Reisberg, & Rumbel, 2009, p. 24). While internationalization is a consequence of globalization, transnational education presents many opportunities for higher education collaboration across geographic and cultural scenarios; it can open access to advanced academic trends and collaborations. The main concern about transnational education relies on the potential that it might have for hegemonic powers to impose their educational practices to less powerful nations reinforcing practices that might perpetuate oppressive cycles in developing regions (Bannier, 2016; McBurnie & Ziguras, 2007). The consequences of transnational education should be beneficial to all the participants. Internationalization should not be considered as a way to impose hegemonic practices, based on what a group of people believe higher education should look like, but as a way to promote collaborative practices that enrich our understandings about the way higher education works better in different places (Bovill, Jordan, & Watters, 2015). While internationalization can be beneficial or detrimental in higher education institutions depending on its implementation, one of the most known challenges that globalization imposed on higher education is the constant demands to meet standardized criteria for quality and compete in rankings as a way to determine which institutions are best (McBurnie & Ziguras, 2007). These constant social demands to compare the achievement and status of higher education institutions has led for efforts to be focused on being part of the elite club, forgetting that the purpose of higher education goes beyond being ranked or accredited (Bannier, 2016). The expansion of transnational education during the last decade has motivated the development of public policy that recognizes and regulates transnational educational practices to ensure that providers and recipients will benefit from alternative access to quality education (Bovil, Jordan, & Watters, 2015). The worldwide expansion of private higher education responds to the social need for more and better quality higher education regardless of the geographic location (Kinser, Levy, Silas, Bernasconi, Slantcheva-Durst, Otieno, Lane,

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Praphamontripong, Zumeta, & LaSota, 2010). In the UNESCO 2009 Trends in Global Higher Education: Tracking an Academic Revolution report, the authors identify “the increasing mobility of students and scholars, the movement of academic programs and institutions across borders, the extraordinary impact of technology, and above all massification” (Altbach, Reisberg, & Rumbel, 2009, p. 165) as one of the challenges that higher education needs to face in the present and near future. During the past decades, governments have succeeded in the expansion of higher education enrollment worldwide, especially in developing countries, through new alternative options for access and financing for traditionally marginalized populations. But the increased number of enrollments does not necessarily mean a shortening in the gap to access for underprivileged populations (Yonezawa & Kim, 2008). The trends of enrollment are constantly changing, and there are no evident generalizable patterns throughout the world in terms of access and enrollment (Böhm, Davis, Meares, & Peace, 2002). Technology has played an important role in providing opportunities to students that were traditionally marginalized from higher education due to their age, work responsibilities, or mobility to become part of higher education. It is undeniable that the integration of technology in the educational practice can be considered a turning point in terms of access to higher education due to its flexibility and its cost effectiveness (Guri-Rosenblit, 2009). Technology has allowed for learning interactions and collaboration to take place away from a specific geographical setting; it is through the use of educational and communication technology that students and faculty can collaborate and contribute to each other’s learning as they construct new knowledge beyond physical locations and political borders (Dunn & Wallace, 2008). Most authors coincide, in general, about the challenges that transnational higher education faces. Most of them agree on the need to embrace globalization without disregarding the need for appreciation of each individual personal and professional development as part of their unique social and cultural context (Felten & Johansson, 2014; Barnett, 2009; McBurnie & Ziguras, 2007). Others claim that the challenges rely on the need of educational institutions to meet standardized measurable quality standards to be recognized by the international academic community while disregarding the relevance of providing attention and resources to students’ voices and local community needs to ensure democratic transformation (Benson & Boyd, 2015; Saltmarsh & Hartley, 2012; Conndliffe & Lewis, 2011; Dunn & Wallace, 2008; McBurnie & Ziguras, 2007). Finally, there are those who feel higher education massification and student and faculty mobility are still the main challenge for higher education during the next decade (Bok, 2015; Khan & Law, 2015).

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Democratic Educational Practices

Regardless of the social and cultural context, current literature on educational practices stresses the relevance of allowing students to become active learners and experience democratic practices. Teachers are called upon to provide future generations with opportunities for them to find their voices as a way to activate their commitment as agents of social change. Society expects that students, as part of their educational experience, learn to find responsible and sustainable solutions to current global challenges (Sleeter & Flores Carmona, 2017; Adams et al., 2000; Brookhart & Rusnak, 1993). Educational discourse during the last two decades, continues to foster the need for empowering students to become responsible for their own actions and engaged citizens, in contrast to what takes place within the different learning settings. Classrooms remain an evident example of a system that promotes the notion of teachers in total control over the students (Hill Collins, 2013; Gaztambide-Fernandez & Sears, 2004; Adams, Blumfeld, Casteñeda, Hackman, Peters, & Zuñiga, 2000). In order to understand the relevance of democratic practices within educational contexts, it is important to understand democracy as a way of living in which all individuals are free to make their own decisions and openly express their beliefs and points of view. However, at the same time, people who condone democratic practices are also responsible for the consequences of their individual and collective actions. In educational settings where democratic practices take place, students should be allowed to reflect upon their learning and their role within the educational community, assess their responsibilities to their own learning progress and their contributions to the learning of others, as well being responsible for developing a sense of accountability for their own actions and decisions. In democratic learning environments, all individuals must develop a sense of commitment towards social justice through actions that aim for the betterment of themselves as much as the betterment of their immediate and social context. Democratic practices are often viewed as political acts performed by those elected by the people (Giroux & McLaren, 1996). The complex notion of democracy is frequently associated with the individual participation in election ballots, but it is rarely related with the individual and collective ability to have an opinion and actively participate in political processes inside and outside of their immediate context (García in Orellus & Mallot, 2012). As current educational trends emerge, the analysis of the possible ways in which power is exercised within an educational context requires the assessment of several elements: Are educational democratic practices an institutional priority? How does the learning environment foster or detriment democratic practices? Do the learning methods, assessment systems and disciplinary policies used in

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the educational contexts allow all community members to voice their point of view and actively engage in continuous improvement processes? While the demands for education to become the vehicle of social change continue to be present in the educational discourse during the last decades, the teaching practices in all educational levels continue to perpetuate pedagogical practices in which students are rewarded when they comply with the oppressive roles of power (Gaztambide-Fernández & Sears, 2004; Stephenson & Yorke, 2013). Teachers are promoted based on test results rather than for the actions they have taken to improve the future potential of their students, and educational institutions are recognized due to their accreditation merits more than for their efforts in promoting access to marginalized populations and the improvement of teacher quality (Williams, 2016; Felten & Johansson, 2014). Educational institutions are considered to be responsible for preparing next generations to confront the unresolved and new challenges that adults face today. In general, the idea of education promoting social change emphasizes that educational settings might potentially have an influence on those members of society that will contribute for a better society. Educational experiences must find ways to activate in future generations their willingness and their ability to become actively engaged citizens, able to propose and implement solutions to overcome social challenges (Saltmarsh & Hartley, 2012). Educational institutions have been called to become advocates for democratic practices in order to foster civic and social commitment in the next generations as a response to the apathetic response of current citizens to find solutions for social challenges (Sleeter, 2005; Gaztambide-Fernandez & Sears, 2004; Adams et al., 2000). For educational settings to be able to foster opportunities for students to find their voice, to become committed to democratic practices in order to challenge the status quo, the roles of power within the learning environments need to be challenged so that learning environments resemble equalitarian societies (Sleeter & Flores Carmona, 2017; Barnett, 2009).

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Identity, Beliefs and Pedagogy

Educators, regardless of the context in which they teach, who are willing to implement democratic assessment practices in their educational institutions or in their own classrooms must be willing to assess how their own beliefs and experiences influence their actions and decisions as they teach (Sleeter & Flores Carmona, 2017). Davidson (2006) explains that the identity construction process is constantly evolving as each individual matures, learns and experiences the world from their own ever-changing perspective, as we

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change and adapt to new environments, needs, expectations and realities. The complexity of the process in which an individual’s identity mutates in time cannot be graphically represented due to the multilayered dimensions that overlap and interplay simultaneously and occasionally in time. Blommaert (2005) explains that identity is “who and what we are” (p. 203); it is our identity that allows us to construct meaning by allowing us to make sense of who we are, what we know, and reflect upon our beliefs and stance at a certain point of our individual history. Flores and Day (2002) describe the development process of the teacher’s professional identity as “an ongoing and dynamic process which entails the making sense and (re)interpretation of one’s own values and experiences” (p. 220). This notion of an ever evolving identity embraces the idea that people can change as their individual identities evolve, and so can the professional practice, as teachers reflect about themselves, their beliefs and their purpose as educators. Reflecting about our past enables us to understand where we come from, how we act, what we like or dislike, and therefore allows us to begin to understand who we are. Davidson (2006) explains that our own experiences mold who we are and who we will become. Teachers have an unequivocal potential to become their students’ role models, regardless of the education level in which they teach. In addition, schools are a place where a sense of belonging is fostered, where students are active participants of a democratic dialogue and where leaders are true role models. Democratic educational institutions will enable future generations to have a clearer understanding of their role in society, as well as allow them to feel that their opinions and needs have not been neglected by adults (Steinberg, 2011). The act of teaching is often confused with pedagogy. Smith (2012) describes pedagogy as the interconnections of culture, emotions and knowledge in the educational practice. According to Smith (2012), pedagogy is often overlooked and associated with the act of teaching. The act of teaching is often rigorously planned and incorporates a myriad of elements; it complies with official and institutional demands that the teacher consciously chooses to implement as the learning process develops. Pedagogy on the other hand arises from the interplay of culture, emotions, power relationships and previous knowledge of all the people with the learning experience. In each class setting, even if different groups of students share the same teacher, the manifestation of pedagogy will be unswervingly different. Transnational education provides the ideal learning environment for teachers to reflect upon themselves and their identities and how their own pedagogy needs to evolve in order to effectively embrace the diverse students’ needs that converge in a transnational educational settings. As teachers reflect upon their pedagogy, they must face their

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beliefs, their choices and their history. The result of this profound reflection process about their own pedagogy is a conscious decision about who they are, how they control or let go power within the classroom, and how their beliefs, decisions, prior knowledge and experiences will consciously influence the act of teaching. Undoubtedly the way in which individuals exercise power is influenced by their own personal experience (Memmi, 1991). The way in which an individual exercises power is clear manifestation of his/her beliefs and understandings about how the world should work. Thomas and Beauchamp (2009) explain how our beliefs and understanding inform the way we act and the way we teach. Our decisions, actions and choices as we teach become our individual pedagogy, and the way we teach and interact with our students and colleagues evidences our beliefs, stereotypes and educational philosophy. Darling-Hammond, Chung, and Frelow (2002) describe how the way we organize the learning experiences shows the different possible ways in which power manifests in the educational practice, and the way power is manifested in the personal interactions becomes an evident model of how social interactions take place in society. The way power interplays within the learning settings indicates the difficulty that educators have when asked to share their power as they teach. Educational discourse strongly suggests that horizontal power structures are more effective to promote learning but rarely horizontality is evidenced in the roles that teachers and students play within an educational setting. Often teachers are asked to reflect about themselves, their professional identity and based on their reflection, set their own improvement goals. Although assessment is an essential element of the teaching and learning process, teachers are rarely asked to reflect about their learning assessment practices as a way to learn about themselves and their pedagogy. Assessment is not designed by teachers, but the learning process demands teachers to find different ways to conduct formative and summative assessment, not only as a means for evaluating the students’ learning progress, but also as a way to make decisions about their own teaching. Through the analysis of what constitutes each individual teacher assessment scheme is that teachers can learn about their pedagogy and gain a clear and objective view of their true educational philosophy. The analysis of assessment practices allows us to evaluate teachers’ beliefs and priorities in the classroom. Often as educators, we focus on asking the teachers about classroom management, teaching methodologies, but not often enough do we evaluate the learning assessment scheme as evidence of the teachers’ pedagogy and a concrete way in which teachers exercise their power in the learning process.

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Constructivist Approach vs Traditional Approach

Constructivist pedagogy contrasts with the traditional view of education in which the teacher transmits knowledge while students passively follow the teacher’s instructions about how learning is expected to take place (Haberman, 2010). This traditional educational approach incorporates all the commonly acknowledged roles of teachers, therefore perpetuates the roles of power in which teachers decide what is to be learned by students, how learning should occur and how learning is to be assessed (Freire, 2005). As educational discourse constantly promotes the need of new generations of active learners committed to promoting change, literature constantly stresses the need of democratic educational institutions and democratic classes (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 2006); teacher expectations and their roles of power in the learning process have not changed enough during the last decades. There is much to be done to incorporate true democratic practices within all the elements of the learning process (Cochran-Smith, Villegas, Abrams, Chavez-Moreno, Mills, & Stern, 2015). Due to the strong emphasis in preparing teachers to identify and recite the different theoretical approaches (Haberman, 2010), an evident preference for the constructivist theories is commonly found as teachers try to describe and justify their professional practice. Constructivism is the educational theory that understands the relevance of individuality in the learning process as much as the power of collaboration. It supports the notions that the learner must contribute to his/her own learning process and positively contribute and influence in the learning process of others (Henson, 2015). The theoretical claims of constructivism are so generous and evidently positive that they are consistently used as the foundation of the educational discourse about current practices (Richardson, 2003). However, having a truly constructivist learning environment presents complex challenges that involve an in-depth analysis of the educational practice as a whole. Real constructivist practice goes far beyond the discourse (Ladson-Billings, 1995). It requires an exhaustive analysis of teacher and student roles, individual and collective responsibilities within the learning process and the potential learning environments in which the construction of new meanings and skills will develop. Contemporary educational institutions often begin to show constructivist practices by preparing physical environments that foster collaborative learning. Some make sure their teachers incorporate constructivist teaching methodologies as they plan their lessons, while others openly demand teachers to foster opportunities for students to experience meaningful dialogue and debate. According to Richardson (2003) constructivist pedagogy entails an active role of the students in their own learning process, as well as in the learning

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process of other students and the teacher. Through the constructivist approach, the learning process does not pertain exclusively to the students but also to the teacher; therefore the educational setting itself becomes a learning community in which the constant exchange of previous knowledge and experiences through opportunities for dialogue and collaboration is essential for the construction of new meanings and understandings (Fosnot, 2005; Richardson, 2003). This active dialogue and collaboration in many ways resemble what is expected to occur in democratic spaces where consensus for solutions and priorities is reached through deliberation and collaboration. As transnational education regards learning as a constructive procedure (Ahamer & Jekel, 2010), in which reaching consensus is achieved through dialogue, finding solutions through the analysis of different perspectives and constructing understandings by appreciating the diverse contributions of teachers and students are essential as new meanings emerge. Transnational teachers’ discourse and practice must embrace the constructivist approach in which students construct meaning as they experience a myriad of environments, cultures and learning activities (Bolotin, 2011). The teacher’s role within constructivist pedagogy is described as the person responsible for facilitating the learning. According to Bolotin (2011), Haberman (2010), and Richardson (2003), the teacher in a constructivist setting is responsible for planning and implementing learning environments and meaningful learning activities that foster the learning construction process based on the students’ interests and needs. Bolotin (2011) explains that as a facilitator, teachers encourage that learning takes place in a safe environment in which students feel motivated to learn, to ask and to contribute with their own knowledge and experiences. The teacher can also provide students with information and experiences of his/her own as way of guiding and enriching the learning process but not as the sole source of knowledge.

7

Teacher Power Interplays within the Classroom Setting

Regardless of the context in which individual power is analyzed, unequivocally its role becomes a manifestation of the way social roles within that context are structured (Freire, 2005; Apple, 2004; Memmi, 1991). The way in which an individual exercises power is a clear manifestation of their beliefs and personal understandings about how the world should work; certainly the way in which individuals exercise power is influenced by their own unique experiences (Blommaert, 2005). Wood (1998) presents compelling arguments that support the fact that in any democratic society curriculum cannot be imposed. In

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theory, what goes on in schools should not be manipulated by the political power in place, but solely by those involved in the educational process. Stiggins (1999) explains the relevance of understanding teacher power when analyzing how power is exercised within the educational environment. Undeniably teachers are in charge of what takes place in the learning environment. They determine what is to be taught and how the learning process should take place, but in a democratic environment, both the contents and the methods foster students’ active participation in the meaning construction of learning (Gaztambide-Fernandez & Sears, 2004). One of the essential elements of the learning process is assessment. In the current assessment practices, teachers are placing their students in situations in which their actions and performance are being assessed by someone that possesses more power. Brooman, Darwent, and Pimor (2015) and Roberts (2015) stress the relevance of including students as active participants in their own learning as a way for them to gain ownership and also to provide feedback that enables the curriculum to remain responsive to the students’ needs. According to Beijaard, Meijer, and Verloop (2004), the lack of teachers’ formal education constitutes one of the most common obstacles for improving teaching practices in the classrooms. Many teachers tend to reproduce what they experienced as students, perpetuating ineffective educational practices in the educational settings. Self-reflection and self-assessment should be an essential element of the teacher preparation process so that educators can get in touch with their “core qualities” (p. 93) in a continuous process of personal and professional growth. The teachers’ self-acknowledgement process becomes more relevant in the transnational educational context where teachers are expected to be effective and adaptable as they mediate learning using technology in order to meet the needs of a very diverse population of students. Promoting opportunities for teachers to learn about themselves, reflect about their histories and assess the foundations of their professional practice creates rich opportunities to empower them as agents of change in democratic educational spaces (Strauss, 2016).

8

What Is Democratic Assessment?

Following the basic principles of democratic education, democratic assessment is a process in which learning is evaluated taking into consideration the active involvement of all the participants. Students learn to reflect about their own learning process, to assess their peers and to use assessment as an opportunity to learn. Through democratic assessment, students are given the opportunity to analyze how the meaning construction process takes place,

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allowing them to gain a better understanding about the way they learn, but also gaining awareness of their peers’ process of acquiring new knowledge. Through democratic assessment, students are no longer naïve consumers of knowledge (Albers, 2011); they are rather active participants of the learning process as they claim their voice and ownership about curriculum and gain a better understanding of what takes place as they learn. Democratized assessment should also prompt evaluation of the curriculum itself, as teachers try to make sense of how students perceive and experience it. Failure of students to learn or participate may say more about students’ resistance to the curriculum (or to the teacher) that about their ability to learn. (Sleeter & Flores Carmona, 2017, p. 63) During the last decade, learning assessment has been overtaken by the pressure of external evaluations such as standardized testing and accreditation processes; the influence of this external stress has had a negative effect in the way we teach and what we teach. Teachers and students are being measured by decontextualized assessment methods that show a total disregard for teachers’ and students’ voices and ignore the value of the learning process itself. Hattie (2015) states, Until we see tests as aids to enhance teaching and learning, and not primarily as barometers of how much a student knows now, on this day, on this test, then developing more tests will add little, and will remain an expensive distraction. (p. 24) The benefits of globalization are undeniable, but there are also some educational implications of globalization that need further analysis as we continue to find paths for transnational education to emerge (Malete, 2016). In the last decade, assessment standardization has reached almost every nation; while the developed nations complain about the lack of effectiveness of these tools to measure learning, the negative effect of assessment standardization in underdeveloped nations goes further. Standardized tests are specific products developed by multinational companies for wealthy economies, therefore standardized tests are designed and merchandised to be consumed by the developed nations around the world. When these assessment tools are used to measure learning in underdeveloped contexts, the results are appalling. Standardized test design shows a total disregard of the geographical context, language differences and in most cases include several culturally biased questions. Hattie (2015) explains, “We need to instead focus on the power of assessment as feedback to help teachers maximize their impact, and ask

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teachers to teach students how to interpret their own information from assessments” (p. 28). It appears as if standardization has derailed the final purpose of assessment. As long as we agree that the real power of assessment relies in providing opportunities for educational improvement and for student empowerment, regardless of the context where it takes place, reclaiming its purpose should become a priority for educators. The purpose of assessment, regardless of the educational context where it takes place, is to enhance learning. Current research shows that for significant learning to occur, teachers need to implement strategies to help students find relevant connections between their previous knowledge and experiences in order for them to construct new understandings (Fink, 2003). Most democratic educational settings provide students with opportunities to become active participants of their own learning process, but rarely allow them to become involved in the assessment process. All the power of assessment is concentrated solely on the teacher, denying students of the opportunity to reflect about their own academic performance, become accountable for their own actions and effort, and continue to learn through the opportunity of assessing their peers and teachers. Thomas Guskey (2003) states, To use classroom assessments to make improvements, however, teachers must change both their view of assessments and their interpretation of results. Specifically, they need to see their assessments as an integral part of the instruction process and as crucial for helping students learn. Andrade (2008) explains how powerful self and peer assessment can be for the students. She claims that if teachers prepare the conditions to allow students to assess themselves, they gain ownership over their learning process and contribute more in the collaborative learning processes. As students become active participants of their own assessment process, they become aware of their own responsibilities, weaknesses and strengths as they gain control of their learning and become aware of their potential contributions to the learning process of their own peers and teachers (Sleeter & Flores Carmona, 2017; Hill Collins, 2013). Teachers commonly understand the value of active discussions and collaborative learning in their classes but often find it difficult to let go their control over assessment. Andrade (2008) explains, Confusion between the two has led to these misconceptions about selfassessment that make many teachers hesitant to try it: (1) Students will just give themselves As, and (2) They won’t revise their work anyway, so there’s no point in taking time for self-assessment. (p. 60)

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Teachers and students during the last decades have been called to become agents of social change and to foster democratic practices (Ayers, 2006; LadsonBillings & Tate, 2006). Democratic assessment is a way to provide opportunities for teachers to assess their beliefs, allow them to evaluate the different manifestations of power within the classroom, and foster opportunities for students to gain ownership of their own learning and actively contribute to their peers’ learning process. Democratic assessment is a way to promote a constructivist approach to education and it is a way to nurture dialogue and a shift in the roles of power within the educational settings. Democratic education must be constructed in the context where it is to be implemented. Its structure must allow constant change and be flexible in order to adapt to the ever-changing social needs of society.

8

Implementing Democratic Assessment in the Classroom

There are several ways in which democratic assessment can be implemented in all educational contexts, but in order to effectively use democratic assessment strategies in the classroom, there are some basic conditions that must be met. Democratic assessment is a practice that requires multileveled preparation in order to be successful: (1) the educational setting needs to allow alternative assessment practices; (2) teachers must be willing to contrast their educational philosophy with their assessment practices in order to be able to let go of their power as they assess the learning process; and (3) teachers must conduct careful planning about the different ways in which democratic assessment can be integrated successfully taking into consideration the particular educational context. Democratic assessment can take place in educational settings where there is an appreciation of democratic practices. The educational setting needs to allow for alternative assessment practices in classrooms as teachers learn about themselves and their pedagogy. The most successful initiatives that promote democratic practices take place in educational settings where individuals feel free to propose alternative educational approaches that promote democratic practices (Apple & Beane, 2007; Gaztambide-Fernadez & Sears, 2004). Teachers are responsible for designing well planned proposals for innovative educational practices that will not jeopardize the institutional reputation, but to the contrary, will show its willingness to innovate and promote positive change in the educational practices. For democratic assessment to occur, educational institutions need to appreciate the importance of students gaining power over the learning assessment process, which coincides with teachers gradually willing to let go of some of their power as students evaluate themselves and their peers.

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Teachers must be willing to contrast their educational philosophy with their assessment practices. There is no systematic approach to conduct effective democratic assessment, but certainly in order for it to be effective and fulfill its purpose, the person in charge of planning and implementing democratic assessment must be convinced about its benefits. For educators to be able to foster democratic assessment, they need to be willing to reflect on their beliefs, experiences and the different actions and decisions that take place in the classroom (Sleeter & Flores Carmona, 2017). As we reflect upon our pedagogy, as educators, we gain consciousness about our teaching style and the aspects of our individuality that foster our potential to find authenticity in our pedagogy. Power (2009) explains that the relevance of teacher authenticity is a key element when implementing effective teaching and assessing strategies. Authentic pedagogy thrives to respect the student’s and the teacher’s needs when learning takes place. It is about allowing all the participants to be honest about who they are and what they think as an essential element to being honest and having open dialogues that enable learning to occur through reflection that will allow remodeling of our beliefs and pretexts as learning occurs. Guilkers, Bastiaens, and Kirschner (2006) explain that the notion of authenticity is subjective, which makes student perceptions relevant for authentic pedagogy to occur. Student perceptions are essential for them to become empowered about their responsibility as learners. Democratic assessment requires teachers to reflect about their beliefs, shortcomings and strengths. As educators learn and adjust their own pedagogy, it becomes clear how their actions as they teach become a reflection of their beliefs. Democratic education strives for instruction, learning and assessment to be consistent with the teacher’s philosophy and pedagogy. Responsible and professional educational practices, especially those that incorporate innovative approaches, demand careful planning and the ability of educational professionals to anticipate the possible challenges that might arise in each educational context. Alternative ways of teaching and assessing have often mistakenly been associated with a lack of academic rigor. As advocates for democracy, teachers need to be thorough in the analysis of the effectiveness and possible outcomes of innovative practices. Innovative teachers must be willing to lead. Leadership is a skill that is constantly present when improvement and innovation take place in educational settings. In the context of transnational education, democratic assessment could become a key element to promoting democracy. Educational scenarios become fluid, and complex new challenges emerge for teachers to declare common minimum understandings that will facilitate democratic practices regardless of the geographic or cultural context. Galinsky and Schweitzer (2015) explain that research shows that for change to occur, the participants must trust the new process. Trust can be rapidly built by

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the leader’s ability to exhibit warmth and competence, therefore institutions and educators that are willing to incorporate innovative democratic practices must make sure that all the people involved understand the value of their proposed change. During the initial stages of implementation of any innovative practice, educators are expected to lead by adequately preparing the students and other people involved so that they have clear expectations about the new approach, but also so that they understand the purpose and benefits involved in the new innovative approach (Hoyle, 2008). There are several ways in which democratic assessment can take place in educational settings. Within each context potential strategies should be adapted in order to meet students’ needs but also take into consideration the institutional philosophy and the teacher’s pedagogy. In the following section, four specific strategies to implement democratic assessment are described: (1) design an assessment scheme that presents opportunities for students to assess themselves and their peers’ work as they become accountable for their own learning; (2) integrate critical dialogue as an essential element of the learning process to empower students to gain their own voices and learn to appreciate the contributions of traditionally marginalized voices; (3) foster opportunities for students to engage with their communities and share experiences as a way for them to make meaningful connections between academic learning and the social context; and (4) foster instances for students to share their own perceptions about the learning process and the teacher’s pedagogy as a way to develop a conscious sense of responsibility for their actions as learners. When implementing democratic assessment, teachers could find ways to incorporate opportunities for students to assess themselves and their peer’s work as they become accountable for their learning. These opportunities need to be carefully integrated in the assessment scheme when the educational planning process takes place. According to Wiggins and McTighe (2011), effective educational planning starts by setting clear and achievable learning objectives, and designing an assessment scheme that will allow teachers to corroborate if and how these objectives will be achieved. Evidence-based learning should not focus solely on the students’ ability to produce what they are expected to but also on the process of teaching students to reflect about their learning and on the ability of students to become critical about their individual knowledge construction process (Kirch, 2015). Within the process of designing the assessment scheme, the opportunity arises for the teacher to determine potential opportunities for students to assess themselves and their peers as a way of providing students the opportunity to take responsibility of the learning process and also take away some of the teachers’ power in the assessment process. Teachers must examine which elements within their assessment scheme could become an opportunity for students to self-assess

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their work or their learning process, which elements could benefit from peer feedback, and if possible, which elements could be presented to be assessed by a public audience. Setting up a democratic assessment scheme involves structure in planning and analysis, as with any other innovative educational approach. In the initial stage, teachers need to guide the self-assessment and peer assessment process using structured grading criteria or scoring rubrics; this guidance will allow students to carefully transition as they become ready to assume the responsibility of assessing their own learning and the learning of others in a constructive way. Provoking opportunities for critical dialogue is a powerful strategy to incorporate democratic assessment. Students being able to share their ideas, previous knowledge and experiences is essential for them to find their own voices and appreciate the struggles and challenges of other traditionally marginalized voices (Freire, 2005; Ladson-Billings, 1998). Providing students with well-structured opportunities to speak up as much as opportunities to listen and reflect upon other people´s experiences allow students to construct better arguments and new meanings. It is almost impossible for future generations to change the way they conceive the world if they do not learn to listen to others and to interpret different perspectives; only through educational experiences that incorporate democratic practices, critical dialogue and social engagement will future generations be able to reach the societal expectations of becoming agents of social change (Shields, 2011; Leistyna, Lavandez, & Nelson, 2004). The constructivist approach values the students’ previous knowledge and experiences as essential elements for new understandings to emerge; therefore, when implementing any constructivist teaching methodology, the students’ social and cultural context should be considered within the learning process. Democratic assessment implementation cannot occur in isolation from the social, geographical and cultural context. Another way to implement democratic assessment is through finding opportunities for students to engage with their communities and share experiences that will enrich the common understanding about reality and the challenges that surround them. In the transnational educational context, providing students with learning experiences that enable them to explore local challenges associated with the curriculum contents and promoting opportunities for them to analyze situations or propose solutions is a powerful way to foster individuals to gain an updated, realistic understanding about social challenges and struggles. Additionally, it allows for others to learn about the challenges that take place in distant realities. Provoking opportunities for student empowerment and critical dialogue about individuals, communities and society in schools and during education becomes crucial in order to stimulate the individual and collective agency to promote constructive change and achieve social justice.

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Democratic assessment provides opportunities for students to assess their learning but also to assess their teachers’ pedagogy as part of a continuous symbiotic improvement process. Similar to Dahl’s (2015) theory of democracy, in democratic assessment practices, the learning process should foster instances for students to share their own perceptions about the learning process and the teacher’s pedagogy so that there is an egalitarian distribution of power during the decision making process. Teachers’ discourse often reveals the relevance of being able to assess and meet their students’ individual and collective needs. In order to do so, it is imperative for educators to provide instances for listening and understanding their students’ needs and interests, but also it is necessary for them to exemplify what it is like to receive feedback in a positive and constructive manner. Often teachers expect their students to act and do things that they are unable to do. Teachers modelling through their actions in class what democratic education should look like allows students to understand their role in the process, but also to develop a sense of trustworthiness in the teachers’ actions and decisions.

9

Conclusions

Innovative classroom practices are often associated with the integration of technology, but current world conditions demand educators to find innovative ways to foster democratic thinking and living as a way to contribute for public good. Innovation in transnational contexts can also be exemplified through the adoption of educational strategies that will consolidate democratic living. It is through democratic education that future generations will learn to become accountable for their own actions as teachers and students will find ways to become engaged in a personal process of continuous improvement. Democratic assessment is certainly an innovative way to promote democratic practices and social change through constructive reflection, critical dialogue, community engagement and analysis of roles of power within educational settings. Democratic educational practices do not occur in an abrupt manner (Apple & Beane, 2007); they normally begin through individuals willing to reflect upon their actions and educational practices as they try small innovative practices within their classrooms. Democratic assessment takes place when individuals begin to value the importance of providing students with opportunities to experience democracy through engagement and ownership of their own learning process. It is certainly not easy to change traditional practices and roles of power; letting go of teacher power through assessment by allowing students to assess themselves and each other is

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certainly a challenge, but democratic participation also involves being able to provide others with the tools for them to assume responsibility for their own beliefs and previous actions. The process of learning construction takes place through the active participation of the different people involved in the educational process. Wood (1998) describes the basic conditions for teachers and students to become active agents for social change and gain a greater sense of political influence: First, the participants must be in the position of decision maker rather than decision influencer; second, all participants must be in possession of, or have access to, the requisite information on which decisions can be reached; and third, full participation requires equal power on the part of the participants in order to determine the outcome of decisions. (p. 181) Freire (2005) explains that teaching is above all a “human act”; its effectiveness relies mostly on the teachers’ individual ability to teach, connect, care, and facilitate the students’ learning. The democratic assessment strategies presented in this chapter could be implemented in diverse educational settings; their applicability to the transnational setting is evident as it strives to provide learning opportunities across borders. All innovative practices demand of an individual to be willing to lead, ready to conduct careful planning and have the energy to gain the required institutional support. The main challenge relies on promoting new student-teacher roles and finding ways to assure that grades and feedback will become a constructive element of the learning process. Democratic education provides a different perspective to the current discourse about constructivist learning. Teacher and students truly collaborate to make decisions about what is meaningful learning (Bergmark & Westman, 2015). Students are provided with opportunities to gain more responsibility for their actions but also learn to feel ownership of their academic accomplishments (Billet, 2014). Democratic assessment requires a responsible partnership led by teachers that are willing to transfer their power. Educational institutions that willingly allow for teachers to evaluate themselves and to reflect upon their own practice open the way for continuous improvement and for the possibility of empowering teachers and students to become critical thinkers ready to engage as active agents of social change.

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Kirch, S. A. (2015). Teaching and learning the purpose of evidence for knowledge and knowing. The Reading Teacher, 69(2), 163–167. doi:10.1002/trtr.1396 Ladson-Billings, G. (1998). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. In L. E. Beyer & M. W. Apple (Eds.), The curriculum: Problems, politics, and possibilities (pp. 201–229). Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. F. (2006). Education research in the public interest: Social justice, action, and policy. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Leistyna, P., Lavandez, M., & Nelson, T. (2004). Critical pedagogy: Revitalizing and democratizing teacher education. Teacher Education Quarterly, 31(1), 4–15. Malete, L. (2016). Transnational education and internationalization of education as tools for higher education transformation and economic development in emerging economies. In E. Jean Francois, M. B. Avoseh, & W. Griswold (Eds.), Perspectives in transnational higher education (pp. 39–53). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers. McArthur, J. (2010). Reconsidering the social and economic purpose of higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 30(6), 737–749. doi:10.1080/ 07294360.2010.539596 McBurnie, G., & Ziguras, C. (2007). Transnational education: Issues and trends in offshore higher education. New York, NY: Routledge. Memmi, A. (1991). The colonizer and the colonized. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Power, A. (2009). Community engagement as authentic learning with reflection. Issues in Educational Research, 20(1), 57–63. Richardson, V. (2003). Constructivist pedagogy. Teachers College Record, 105(9), 1623–1640. Roberts, P. (2015). Higher education curriculum orientations and the implications for institutional curriculum change. Teaching in Higher Education, 20(5), 542–555. doi:10.1080/13562517.2015.1036731 Saltmarsh, J., & Hartley, M. (Eds.). (2012). To serve a larger purpose: Engagement for democracy and the transformation of higher education. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. Shields, C. M. (Ed.). (2011). Transformative leadership: A reader. New York, NY: Peter Lang. Sleeter, C. E. (2005). Un-standardizing curriculum: Multicultural teaching in the standards based classroom. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Sleeter, C. E., & Flores Carmona, J. (2017). Un-standardizing curriculum: Multicultural teaching in the standards-based classroom (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Sleeter, C. E., & Grant, C. A. (2009). Making choices for multicultural education: Five approaches to race, class and gender (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons, Inc. (original work published in 1999) Smith, M. K. (2012). What is pedagogy? The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://infed.org/mobi/what-is-pedagogy/

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Steinberg, S. R. (2011). Redefining the notion of youth: Contextualizing the possible for transformative youth leadership. In C. M. Shields (Ed.), Transformative leadership: A reader (pp. 267–278). New York, NY: Peter Lang. Stephenson, J., & Yorke, M. (Eds.). (2013). Capability and quality in higher education. New York, NY: Routledge. Stiggins, R. J. (1999). Evaluating classroom assessment training in teacher education programs. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 18(1), 23–27. Strauss, S. (2016). Teacher power. In A. M. Battro, P. Lena, M. S. Sorondo, & J. von Braun (Eds.), Children and sustainable development: Ecological education in a globalized world (pp. 273–281). Cham: Springer International. Thomas, L., & Beauchamp, C. (2009). Understanding teacher identity: An overview of issues in the literature and implications for teacher education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 39(2), 175–189. Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2011). The understanding by design guide to creating highquality units. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Williams, J. (2016). A critical exploration of changing definitions of public good in relation to higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 41(4), 619–630. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.942270 Wood, G. H. (1998). Democracy and the curriculum. In L. E. Beyer & M. W. Apple (Eds.), The curriculum: Problems, politics, and possibilities (2nd ed., pp. 58–76). Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Yonezawa, A., & Kim, T. (2008). The future of higher education in the context of a shrinking student population: Policy challenges for Japan and Korea. In OECD (Ed.), Higher education to 2030: Vol 1: Demography (pp. 199–220). Paris: OECD.

María Dolores Lasso Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador

Part 5 Transnational North American Perspectives

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Chapter 11

Deliberative Dialogue as a Teaching/Learning Experience in Higher Education An Application in Some Human Services Classroom Practices Fonkem Achankeng I

We deliberate not about ends, but about the means to attain ends. Aristotle

1

Introduction

There is considerable interest on how college professors can help students think critically about content. Scholars on this subject are interested in the structures professors provide that encourage students, both the loquacious and the shy, to reflect on course content through a reflective conversation.1 Based on an analysis of the author’s teaching experience in the Human Services Leadership program at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in a period some have described as one of increased suffering and decreased caring,2 this chapter explores the “deliberative dialogue” approach in teaching/learning in higher education. The chapter arises out of the ongoing reflection on the challenge of the American Association for Colleges and Universities and the Department of Education to re-think the approaches to civic engagement. In particular, it is a response to the call by Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, for “better training and a push for evidence based practices.” As a form of discussion, deliberative dialogue aims at finding the best course of action. Deliberative dialogue is reasoning with others to refine and expand ideas. The term “deliberative dialogue” refers to a face-to-face method of public interaction in which small groups of diverse individuals exchange and weigh ideas and perspectives about a particular issue in which they share an interest (Guzman, 1999).3 Also known as deliberative democracy, deliberative dialoguing is about an effort to encourage people and groups to share ideas and perspectives in order to truly listen and understand one another, especially those whose views are very different from our own as Homan, Shepard, and Totten indicated in their keynote paper in the 2012 conference of the National Organization for Human Services (NOHS) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. How do we tailor teaching/learning © koninklijke brill nv, leideN, 2018 | DOI 10.1163/9789004366077_011

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toward producing informed, engaged, open-minded, and socially responsible professionals with a commitment to competence and effectiveness in service provision, prevention and social action? Stated differently, how do educators in Human Services best educate to prepare for practitioner effectiveness in “an era of increased suffering and decreased caring?”

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Context and Experimentation with Teaching Approach

Some scholars in qualitative research, including McLeod (2004) and Koetting and Combs (2002) have indicated the importance of context in research and the need for the researcher to be well-informed about the context of the research. According to Koetting and Combs (2002, p. 140), “[T]heorizing from lived experiences can be very illuminating, enabling and empowering because it has the possibilities of opening up opportunities that bring about emancipatory change.” Koetting and Combs also affirm that “it is important to understand and investigate from within our own conceptualizations of practice, and be able to explore our conceptualizations in order to continue learning and questioning” (p. 137). The deliberate effort to examine my own experiences in a critical way conforms to Weimar’s (2002) framework in learnercentered teaching methodologies and issues in understanding the subtle processes of deliberative dialoguing in civic engagement. In highlighting the need for learners to question their worldview, van Manen (1990) has asserted that undertaking a lived experience is best when the researcher is aware and intentionally attached to the research, in a way that he/she though challenged can comfortably question his or her worldview even to the extent that he/ she gains the motivation to understand the full context, of the experience (p. 5). In this way, I have been able to study my own teaching philosophy and experiences over many years for two main reasons. First, I have done so as a way of building on my experience for professional growth needs, and second, as indicated earlier, as a way of contributing to the ongoing reflection of the American Association for Colleges and Universities and the Department of Education to re-think the approaches to civic engagement. The deliberative dialogue effort in use in my classes is also significant in that it can provide insight into teacher-student relationships in enhancing student learning outcomes. As a teaching/learning approach, the deliberative dialogue method is employed in my Human Services Leadership courses to get students to understand not only the context of a multifarious exploration of what the Human Services Leadership field involves, but also to understand the context of responding to the needs of people desperately searching for help. The

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context of my experience began in 2008 when I started teaching students in the Human Services major at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. In my teaching, I understood the concept of deliberative dialogue as an approach to civic engagement in a democratic society. The problematizing of the idea of deliberative dialogue is to point to some classroom practices in the teaching/ learning experience of students in human services for professional competency and effectiveness. The data analyzed for the study leading to this chapter were collected through my teaching experience in the Human Services program over a period of more than seven years. The analysis is derived mainly from a methodological stance of ethnography and lived experiences in the qualitative research tradition.

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Framework for Deliberative Dialoguing

The compelling and complex nature of the deliberative dialogue concept in the teaching/learning experience puts the saliency of this chapter into perspective. The discussion in this chapter is premised, as indicated earlier, on the use of deliberative dialogue in the teaching/learning experience to frame a vision of the Human Services practitioner effectiveness in “an era of increased suffering and decreased caring.” Moreover, the complex strategies that make up the teaching/learning experience are interspersed with an extensive array of social, cultural and political trajectories that rehearse, re-imagine and challenge the teaching/learning practices in American colleges and universities. When examining my own practices over a seven year span, the key question was on how classroom practices in human services are tailored to the formation of informed, engaged, open-minded, and socially responsible professionals who will be committed to competence and effectiveness. This chapter is therefore my attempt to use the deliberative dialogue approach to learner-centered teaching as a contribution to the education of students for practitioner effectiveness as informed, engaged, open-minded, and socially responsible professionals. Deliberative dialogue differs from other forms of public discourse – such as debate, negotiation, brainstorming, consensus-building – because the objective is not so much to talk together as to think together, not so much to reach a conclusion as to discover where a conclusion might lie (…). The deliberative dialogue process usually revolves around a pressing question that needs to be addressed, rather than a problem that can be efficiently solved. A problem needs to be solved; a question cannot be solved, but it can be experienced and, out of that experience, a common understanding can emerge that opens an acceptable path to action. Scott London (2012)

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has considered that thinking together involving listening deeply to other points of view, exploring new ideas and perspectives, searching for points of agreement, can bring unexamined assumptions into the open. In pointing out that listening can be as important as speaking, public opinion analyst Daniel Yankelovich (1999, p. 136) also provided a useful overview of the deliberative dialogue when he mentioned that “not being heard is a conditioned response that is constantly reinforced. A typical first reaction to views that oppose your own is to assume that you are not being understood and therefore to restate your own position more insistently, in the hope that the force of your convictions will cause it to register.” This is often the case given that many students are not accustomed to having others truly listen to their viewpoints. Yankelovich (1999) added that “[W]hether we are conversing in everyday settings or participating in a structured process, most of us focus on our own concerns, or prepare our next comment, instead of trying to understand what the other person is really saying” (p. 136). The situation is the same in a classroom with students who come in with different viewpoints about given issues such as racism, poverty, welfare, the environment, health care, sexism or sexual orientation. It is in this context that listening deeply to other viewpoints and exploring new perspectives becomes an important part of the learning process. 4

Purpose of Deliberative Dialogue in the Teaching/Learning Experience

Building from the assertion by McCoy and Scully (2002) that it is impossible to have a productive public discussion of issues unless everyone’s voice and perspective contributes to the search for solutions to public challenges, the deliberative dialogue approach is used in my teaching to move students beyond the clash of opinions and arrive at a deeper and shared level of understanding. In this way, there tends to be noticeable shifts in dialogue as participants subject their views to other perspectives. Instead of simply talking together or exchanging opinions, students begin actively thinking together – collectively exploring a question, weighing the strengths and weaknesses of alternative points of view, and searching for a common understanding. Some have likened such a process to a group of musicians coming together to play a tune. While each member of the group has his or her own distinct role and musical sensibility, it is only by joining in harmony that they can create something beautiful together. Like music, a group of class participants engaged in a deliberative dialogue can discover a flow of meaning that reflects a synergy of perspectives that can include but also transcend the contribution of each participant.

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As will be discussed in some detail below within the context of our Social Issues and Solutions in Human Services class, for example, the issues we raise and study are not, in themselves new to the students. Almost every student in the classes has heard about racism, poverty, healthcare, or inequality in American society to mention a few of the issues raised and discussed in the class. However, each of the students only has his/her individual perspective on any given issue depending on the backgrounds and experiences they each bring to the class. When we apply the deliberative dialogue approach in our discussions, the aim is not so much about solving the problem(s) involved or resolving an issue although that is an important consideration in the class. The main aim in the class is rather to explore the issue(s) from a variety of perspectives in order to grow each student’s understanding of the different perceptions of the issue(s) under study and the most promising avenues for action. Thinking together by exploring new ideas and perspectives and bringing unexamined assumptions into the open is the goal and the practice in my classes.

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Historical and Practical Model

The Greeks may not have invented dialogue, but it is believed that they introduced the idea that individuals could not be intelligent on their own, that it was only by reasoning with others that they could uncover the truth for themselves. The Greeks understood that if two or more people were unsure about a question, they could accomplish something together that they could not do on their own. They also understood that by questioning and probing each other, carefully dissecting and analyzing ideas, finding the inconsistencies, never attacking or insulting, but always searching for what they could accept between them, they could gradually attain deeper understanding and insight. In this spirit, ‘deliberative dialogue’ among a group of people is aimed at establishing a framework for mutual understanding and a common purpose that transcends mere ideas and opinions. While it may not produce consensus, it can produce collective insight and judgment reflecting the thinking of the group as a whole – personal disagreements notwithstanding. It is commonly assumed that the only alternatives to consensus are compromise and dissent. But deliberative dialogue offers another possibility by assuming that individuals’ views may be to some degree amorphous and indeterminate until they have been refined and enlarged through the process of reasoning with others (Madison & Dingman, 2010). It is needless to indicate that not every dialogue succeeds in creating this level of sharing and insight. However,

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the difference between an ordinary and an extraordinary dialogue for Scott London (2012) is the presence of some transforming moment, or critical turning point, when participants shift out of an identification solely with their own point of view and entertain the possibility of a common and collective understanding of the issue at hand. In some methods of deliberative dialogue, such as the study circle, participants begin the discussion from their personal experience with the issue and proceed over time to examine multiple views and perspectives. In the end, whether or not they come to consensus, the group will ideally understand the complexities of the issue and come to an informed opinion about it (Guzman, 1999). Homan, Shepard, and Totten4 considered the deliberative dialogue concept when used to frame a vision of the human services response to social problems in terms of an effort to encourage people to share ideas and opinions and to truly listen and understand one another – especially those whose views are very different from the views of others. Although most people may consider deliberation mainly as something juries do after hearing all the evidence, deliberation gets beyond casual discussion and debate. Scholars, including Homan, Shepard, and Totten (2012) think that when deliberating, people weigh the potential benefits of each solution separately before then looking at the trade-offs and unintended consequences of each approach. Weighing increases the chance that the choices will be sound because a diverse group of people has shared their experiences and the consequences of the actions they decide to take. An important part of deliberative dialogue is the careful attention paid to how each issue is framed. The purpose of this type of framing of issues is to help us move out of deeply entrenched positions or viewpoints, encouraging participants to talk through the “gray” aspects of the issue in order to find new ways of moving forward, while also honoring those things that people hold as deeply valuable.

6

Experiences in the Classroom

Educating for human services leadership entails examining some of the issues and circumstances that impact peoples’ lives negatively and produce the clients and client groups for human services practice. In the Human Services Leadership program at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, I have taught such courses as Social Issues and Solutions; Human Behavior and Strategies for Intervention; Refugees, Migration and Human Services; Family & Community Advocacy; and Domestic Violence. Over the years, students in these classes have constantly been required to get involved in thinking together. As a concept, thinking together involves listening deeply to other points of view,

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exploring new ideas and perspectives, searching for points of agreement, and bringing unexamined assumptions into the open (London, 2012). Participants in the courses usually begin the discussion from their personal experience with the issue and proceed over time to examine the views and perspectives of other students in the class. In the end, whether or not they come to consensus, the learning goal has ideally always been to understand the complexities of the issue and come to an informed opinion about it. And so in these classes, we have tried to involve all students and to make them understand that individuals may not always be at the same point on any given issue, but that it was only by reasoning with others that they could uncover the expected learning experience for themselves. As indicated earlier, we have come to understand in our classes like the Greeks understood long ago that if two or more students were unsure about a question, they could accomplish something together that they could not do on their own. Over the years we have realized that while students knew about the presence of corporations or racism in society, poverty, gender and sexism issues, or about the presence of immigrants in our neighborhoods or even knew of any adolescent children who had committed suicides to mention only a few examples of concerns in human services theory and practice, the students were not always aware of the complexities of these issues. Similarly, we came to realize that the students were also not aware of the impact of such issues to the clients and client groups they were interested in working with in their professional lives or even the linkages between the different issues. Inasmuch as we were, as a teaching/learning community, interested in understanding the manifestations of the issues and thinking about pragmatic solutions to the issues, we realized that students were mainly individual members of society who had their own ideas about these issues. We realized that students never understood that their views or perspectives on any issue were only a small or narrow dimension to any given issue. For example, many of our students never understood the idea of poverty among working families or many aspects of other issues we studied. By the end of the semester, many students shared opinions including, the following: “I am so happy I took this class.” “It has opened my eyes to many things I never imagined about America or why the poor are poor.” “I wish every student on this campus could take this class.” Providing a non-threatening atmosphere in which students could share views freely and comfortably or question assumptions in class without fear of being attacked or insulted, we came to the realization that we all could attain deeper understanding and insight on the issues even if gradually. From this standpoint, my teaching philosophy has been based on the deliberative dialoguing framework. This perspective focuses on questioning and probing each other, carefully dissecting and analyzing ideas, finding

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inconsistencies in the ideas we share, and never attacking or insulting any members of the class with opposing viewpoints. Our goal in my classes according to this framework is to search for what students can accept between them by working in small and large groups as we seek to gradually attain deeper understanding and insight. My aim in this teaching/learning approach has over the years been to explore the issues in the readings for specific classes from a variety of perspectives; to get beyond the initial opinions, positions and deeper motivations of individual participants; weigh carefully the views of others and appreciate the impact of various options on what others may consider valuable. Similarly, as weigh the views of others, we work through any conflicting emotions that arise when various options pull and tug on what participants, as a thinking group, consider valuable. To attain this class goal, two important requirements must be met: non-threatening atmosphere and connectedness, and confidence-building for competence. Let us consider these concepts in some detail in the light of my classroom experiences. 6.1 Classroom Atmosphere and Connectedness As a point of duty, my teaching goal in the different courses I teach is to maintain a good relationship with every student. Effective relationship building means discovering and incorporating students’ interests into class goals, noticing individual accomplishments and events in students’ lives, and interacting with each student as an individual (Marzano et al., 2005, p. 59). In the different courses, I do not only respond to student messages routinely, wish them well when they are ill, but follow up on their condition often. Many students continue to write to me over the summer and even after they have left my classes. One Bob Ebert (pseudonym) and I wrote to each other many times after the student had completed from my classes. Some of the other things I do include getting to know every student’s name in the first weeks of class so I can address them on a person-to-person basis in spite of the big classes I teach. Whether at the door, in or outside of class, I do not only say “Hello Mark” for example, but start a conversation about a student’s day, ask how things are going for them or ask about other classes they may be taking. Many students return to my classes to visit and I also invite some of past students to visit and to share their experiences when they took the class. I also try to learn about each individual student in order to have an idea of their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, I make it a point of duty to compliment students on achievements in and outside of class and sometimes sing Happy Birthday to students in class. Whether working in small or large groups and in big and small circles, we take turns asking or answering questions or sharing viewpoints. In these turn-taking exercises, I try as much as possible to be as equitable as I can.

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The students are encouraged to understand that there are no dumb questions in any of classes. When we explore any ideas in class, the policy is “no participant left behind.” And referring to questions, every question is important not only to the student who poses the question, but more importantly, every question is a contribution to the knowledge base of the class. Since students who come to the class come from a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and needs, the approach in my classes is that as a class we are made up of unique individuals. As a consequence, I am very aware of the needs of different students and try to accommodate any individual needs in the learning activities and processes. Referring to the place of relationships in the classroom in student learning, Leigh (2012) and Marzano et al. have made great contributions to the literature on the teaching/learning experience. Marzano et al. (2005, p. 56), for example, have asserted that ‘the relationship between teacher and student is the starting place for a good classroom experience.” As semesters progress, my students come to know that they must express their viewpoints in a non-threatening environment and also to listen to each other. The very nontraditional teaching/ learning approach in my classes may be paying off. In the fall semester of 2014, the professor who came into CLOW Room 47 after my class once commented: “Michael, you must be doing something right because I see your students coming out with a smile each time I am here.” I think this professor’s remarks reflect the mood in my classes. That mood resulted from the interest I have for every student and the kind of relationship we try to develop with each student in the different classes I teach. 6.2 Building Confidence for Competence Students are also encouraged in my classes to use personal stories to illustrate or support their viewpoints. In the deliberative dialogue experience, personal stories allow participants to identify with each other and recognize others’ experiences as valid on their own terms – even when they may disagree about their own positions on an issue. The narratives of individual students in the classes help build confidence in the group because, when participants have a better understanding of where other individuals among them come from, they are more likely to understand the perspectives of others and, therefore, trust their motives. In this connection, London (2012) considered the goal of deliberation as synonymous to making sound decisions about what action is best as a community. Using the deliberative dialogue approach helps us as a teaching/learning community to struggle with the complex perspectives involved in growing our knowledge of every problem or issue we study and how it impacts clients and client groups in human services. Building trust and creating a foundation for working relationships in the classroom are intended to lead to meaningful action and change in the wider

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community. Action and change are integral parts of human services practice. We understand in my classes that without an explicit effort to build trust, it may not be easy for students to examine the basic assumptions and values that underlie their own views, let alone understand the perspectives of others. Moreover, if one of the goals of the deliberative dialogue teaching/learning approach is to help students, as prospective human services practitioners intending to find ways to create change collaboratively where they work, students need to begin by forming working relationships with other students in their classes. As Lani Guinier (1998, p. 307)5 noted, people are looking for opportunities to “come together to make change, not merely to make friends.” Yet as I listened to students’ contributions to different questions that were often raised to explore the social issues and other topics we studied in the different classes I taught, I found out that students were speaking in very different terms than I had anticipated. As a social scientist with a background in conflict analysis and resolution, I had been trained in active listening in conflict and peace processes needed to analyze opposing viewpoints. Such active listening, after all, is the essence of getting to peace or to a good end in general. But as I listened to the different perspectives of different students in small and large groups in my classes, it dawned on me that the different perspectives of various students on any given issue were usually the starting point, not the final outcome, of their deliberations. This finding is very significant in the teaching/learning experience as it grows the knowledge base on any given issue(s) under study. Subscribing to this viewpoint in his work on public policy forums, London (2012) considered that by voicing their ideas, their experience, and their opinions, as people take in the perspectives of others and clarify points of tension and disagreement, their emphasis gradually shifts away from differences toward common values. As we examine the relevance of the deliberative dialogue framework in enhancing a deeper understanding of the issues we study, it must be stated that the process does not always lead to consensus in the classroom. To the contrary, I rarely see small or large groups achieve real unanimity (and in cases where I do, the participants are invariably close-knit and like-minded). The process of deliberation, when it works well in my classes, seems rather to link students’ initial ideas, positions, and interests on the issues to something more closely resembling the positions clarified and corroborated through a process of group inquiry. I found out over the years that publicly considered opinions expressed in class could be different from some public opinions of the kind we read about in the articles or chapters read privately and individually. The instruction was always for each student to read the materials assigned, do a brief summary and critique of the materials prior to class time. Then there was a formal presentation on the materials followed by questions, answers,

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and finally a facilitated deliberation, in small and/or large groups of specific focused questions. From this teaching/learning tradition or experience over the years, I have continued to observe the power of deliberation, as a conflict analyst and as an instructor. From my teaching/learning experience, I plan to use this open dialogue approach in organizing my community groups as we address the issues affecting my family and locality. In exploring the issue at hand, the practice has been to use open-ended questions to probe students’ understanding of the issues and to elicit their narratives on such issues. In his own work, London (2012) has considered open-ended questioning as capable of challenging individuals to examine their own values and beliefs, put them into words, and subject them to the test of public scrutiny. Such a process can go a long way to revealing the limits of students’ thinking and the possibility of an expanded way of understanding the issue under discussion. This teaching/learning approach, however, had its constraints. The most remarkable one in our experience has been the inability and/or willingness of all students to feel comfortable speaking up at first, particularly at the beginning of the semester when students first come into my classes from different schools, different backgrounds and/or different departments. When they first come into the classes, some are shy, others are unsure, and yet some others fear the response from other participants if they say something “dumb.” “Yet, there are usually some students who may be outright suspicious of the process itself, preferring to simply sit back and listen, and hardly ever contributing thoughts of their own. There have also been students who expected me “to teach in the traditional sense,” the all-knowing professor standing in front of a room full of students sitting in rows waiting to receive the lecture and take long copious notes. Over time, I increasingly try to address these constraints by encouraging a trusting, respectful, and a non-threatening atmosphere in the classroom. Although slowly, increasing numbers of students become more comfortable sharing, but it usually takes a focused conversation on methods and expectations of the class for that to happen. Even after weeks of trying in various ways to establish a trusting, respectful and comfortable class, it still takes feedback elicited through different techniques for some students to warm up enough to share their ideas especially in large groups. Some of the techniques used are discussed by Marzano et al. (2005), but one of the most successful approaches in my classes has been to link the exploration of ideas with students’ personal experiences with the issues under study. The single most effective way to overcome students’ initial hesitancy to share their perspectives is to ask them to share their experiences and talk about how the issue at hand affects their daily lives (McCoy & Scully, 2002). Giving students an adequate opportunity to reflect

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on the relevance of the issue to their own personal experience engages them by beginning where they are and helping them address public concerns in their own language and on their own terms. In other words, the purpose in the philosophy guiding my teaching is not necessarily to bring the students to solve the problems or issues we study, but rather to give students a better sense of the problem/issue at hand and to develop a deeper perspective on potential solutions. This approach seeking to engage the students as a group tries to replicate Aristotle’s age-old words, “We deliberate not about ends, but about the means to attain ends.” Like the Greeks, the belief behind my teaching/learning approach is that individual students cannot be intelligent on their own, that it is only by reasoning with other students that they can uncover the truth for themselves.

7

Implications for Human Services Practice

McCoy and Scully (2002) recognize the fact that most people do not enter community life or politics through doors marked civic life or engagement. Instead, they find themselves “inside” after they start working on an issue about which they care deeply. For McCoy and Scully (2002), once they try to make progress on the issue, they realize that they need to engage other people in seeking and implementing solutions. This scenario is very relevant to the human services field. Some students do not enter the Human Services major with a very good knowledge of what the field entails or with an idea of the courses in the program and how they are taught. In my classes, I try to prepare the students for the field by emphasizing the place of voice and agency, a feeling of power and effectiveness, with real opportunities to have a say. This means participating actively in class (20% of final grade) as a first step to life’s mission. By indicating real opportunities to make a difference in the field, by being a participant in the deliberative process in real life situations, we can arrive at a shared sense of how best to address an issue in the Human Services Agency where we work just as what we do in a family, the local church, local school board meeting, a community, region or nation or even beyond. Although students come together from different home backgrounds and experiences, they all come for the same reason of gaining new knowledge and skills for a career in Human Services. In Human Services as a field, it is about gaining knowledge and skills to equip individual students to impact the lives of people and groups in need. Many students go into the field of Human Services because they “want to make a difference in the lives of less fortunate individuals” in the society. The second focus of the field is development and prevention of problems rather than waiting for the problems to occur and

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then calling in services to try to address the disruption of lives. This approach to human services envisages expanding the pie rather than merely dividing it. The assumption in the approach is that those affected by conditions that render them needy are more than victims or incompetent individuals, but only individuals that have power, abilities and other resources that can be impressively increased when linked and focused (Homan, Shepard, & Totten, 2012). This approach in the field is positioned to play a pivotal role in bringing people together as in the case of the United Way, in order to change conditions that affect them. The third approach of the field is social action and social justice. This third approach to Human Services practice for Homan, Shepard, and Totten (2012) is organized around gestures which challenge social ills ranging from strikes to boycotts, protests, and occupations. Making a difference in peoples’ lives certainly entails working together with service agencies to provide services, rallying to prevent problems from occurring as in Community Gardens to produce vegetables, or rallying for direct action as in the 99%s or groups giving away clean syringes to drug addicts in the movement from case to cause. Irrespective of the approach in the field of Human Services, it is all about working with people. From this perspective, effectiveness comes about only when groups of people engaged in dialogue can discover a flow of meaning that, like music, reflects a synergy of perspectives that includes but also transcends the contribution of each participant (London, 2012). By employing the deliberative dialogue framework, the overall goal in my classes focuses on providing students with the skills and knowledge to participate effectively in a free society; specifically preparing students to make effective and informed choices on the issues that impact the lives of clients and client groups of Human Services. In a nutshell, the most powerful aspect of a deliberative session is the glimpse it offers into how people “reason” about issues with a deeper perspective on potential solutions. McCoy and Scully (2002) weighing in on this advantage, noted that once a diverse group of people comes together in a deliberative dialogue, the process should make it possible for everyone to participate on an equal basis. Participating in a deliberative dialogue on an equal basis is the principle we follow in our classes in order to promote critical reasoning or enhanced argumentation in our discussions of the issues we study.

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Conclusion

In this chapter, I have explored the teaching/learning experience in some Human Services Leadership program courses at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in which we use the “deliberative dialogue” approach. The chapter

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reviewed the deliberative dialogue concept, what it represents, its purpose, how it functions, and also its history beginning from ancient Greece. The argument was that the important role of rethinking the theory and practice of the field of Human Services should involve tailoring the teaching/learning experience toward producing informed, engaged, open-minded, and socially responsible professionals, individuals with a commitment to competence and effectiveness in service provision, prevention and social action. In refocusing attention on the process of rethinking the practice of the field, the article emphasized working collaboratively with others in making a difference in peoples’ lives. This certainly entails considering those affected by conditions that render them needy more than just victims or incompetent individuals, but as individuals that have power, abilities and other resources that can be impressively increased when linked and focused. This approach in the field is positioned to play a pivotal role in bringing people together in order to change conditions that affect them. By questioning and probing each other, carefully dissecting and analyzing ideas, finding the inconsistencies, never attacking or insulting others, but always searching for what they can accept between them, students can gradually attain deeper understanding and insight of the issues they study. As a process dating back to the ancient Greeks, the deliberative dialogue approach is used in the college classroom with a diverse group of students to explore together a problem from several vantage points. I use the approach in my courses not necessarily to solve the problems we study, but rather to give students a better sense of the problems/issues studied and a deeper perspective on potential solutions. In the classes referenced in this discussion, we always try to involve all students and make them understand that it is only by reasoning with others that they can uncover the learning they require. As the Greeks, we have come to understand in our classes that if two or more people were unsure about a question, they could accomplish something together that they could not do on their own.

Notes 1 See for example Leigh (2012). 2 For further details, see Homan, Shepard and Totten (2012). 3 Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) produced an Insights policy. 4 See Keynote at the 2012 National Organization for Human Services Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 17–19. 5 See also Guinier (1997). Others who have articulated this vision of democracy are Boyte and Kari (1996) and Shumer and Pitkin (1982).

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References Boyte, H. C., & Kari, N. N. (1996). Building America: The democratic promise of public work. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Guinier, L. (1997). What is democracy? Speech to the Funders’ Committee on Citizen Participation. Guinier, L. (1998). Lift every voice: Turning a civil rights setback into a new vision of social justice. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Guzman, J. (1999, October). What is deliberative dialogue? In Insights on educational policy, practice, and research (Number 9). Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Homan, M. S., Shepard, B., & Totten, V. (2012, October 17–19). Keynote at the 2012 conference of the National Organization for Human Services (NOHS) (Unpublished thesis). Koetting, J. R., & Combs, M. (2002). The importance of theory and theoretical discourse. In Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 4(2), 137–145. Leigh, R. S. (2012). The classroom is alive with the sound of thinking: The power of the exit slip. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 24(2), 189–196. London, S. (2012). Thinking together: The power of deliberative dialogue. In R. J. Kingston (Ed.), Public thought and foreign policy. Dayton, OH: Kettering Foundation Press. Madison, B. L., & Dingman, S. W. (2010). Quantitative reasoning in the contemporary world, 2: Focus questions for the numeracy community. Numeracy, 3(2), Article 5. Marzano, R. J., Gaddy, B. B., Foseid, M. C., Foseid, M. P., & Marzano, J. S. (2005). A handbook for classroom management that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. McCoy, M. L., & Scully, P. L. (2002). Deliberative dialogue to expand civic engagement: What kind of talk does democracy need? National Civic Review, 91(2), 117–135. Shumer, S. M., & Pitkin, H. F. (1982). On participation. Democracy, 2(4), 43–54. van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. Ontario: The University of Western Ontario. Weimar, M. (2002). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Yankelovich, D. (1999). The magic of dialogue: Transforming conflict into co-operation. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Fonkem Achankeng I University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, USA

chapter 12

Smart Glasses as Digital Strategy for Learning in Higher Education Deborah Schreiber and Laura Hyatt

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Introduction

The time has come for institutions of higher education to embrace technology for its instructional capability and its potential to improve learning in and out of the traditional classroom. As mobile computing meets the Cloud, digital devices such as smart phones and intelligent wearables such as smart glasses, with corresponding apps and advanced analytics, can support innovative models for teaching and learning. Digital screens, connected across multiple geographic locations, encourage student-to-student and student-to-instructor interaction (Denton, 2012; Wang, 2014). Context-rich systems enable live discussions with field experts and subsequent practical applications of content (Rajaei & Aldakheel, 2012). Advanced analytics provide big data on student learning, permitting faculty to augment and personalize related instruction in real time (Long & Siemens, 2011; Thompson, 2011). A new perspective is needed in higher education to harness the power of this innovative technology and meet diverse institutional goals and objectives for learning. The concept of digital strategies, recently noted in the literature, addresses this issue. Digital strategies refer to a broader, more inclusive set of organizational activities. Within the context of higher education, digital strategies encompass the constructs of pedagogy, institutional business objectives, market relevance, and experiential learning (Boag, 2014; Fisher, 2015; Stokes, 2015). The purpose of this comparative study is to examine three cases in which digital strategies align use of smart glasses to innovative applications for teaching and learning. A systems approach model guides identification and analysis of best practices of related technology-based instruction within the broader context of the organization of higher education. The processes of implementation and sustainability of digital strategies for learning by the institution are also examined.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi 10.1163/9789004366077_012

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Transnational Education

Digital technologies engage students across the nation and world like never before. Although international applications using smart glasses for learning are limited, the very nature of this technology suggests broad-based possibilities for transnational education. Transnational education reaches across borders to engage broad groups of culturally diverse students, who are geographically dispersed, in collaborative and integrated learning experiences. Utilizing technology such as smart glasses in innovative ways may provide many possibilities for enhancing these students’ experiences at a distance. For example, research by Schweizer (2014) suggests that diverse groups of students around the world may use smart glasses (and the virtual reality and augmented reality technology) to experience historic global sites, smells and sounds, not through textbook descriptions, but via virtual 3-D interactions. Institutions of higher learning that pursue technology-based transnational education soon learn however that it is a complex process that requires support from the organization at-large to be successful. Involvement is needed from an array of individuals and groups, including faculty, students and administrators, families and local communities, as well as, government and regulatory agencies (Mercado & Gibson, 2013). Additionally, ongoing organizational goals and business objectives must be met, and pedagogical outcomes realized. Finally, marketability of the learning experiences must be confirmed to ensure sustainability. A dynamic system of contributing factors indeed impacts successful implementation of technology-based transnational education, and this is where this study contributes. Utilizing a systems approach enables an organization to consider all internal and external factors that may influence a particular outcome (Sage & Rouse, 2009). Applications of smart glasses technology occur within the United States, as well as, globally. However, most uses abroad focus on military and health care environments, rather than higher education. For example, Evena Medical utilizes smart glasses in Germany for deep tissue vascular imaging; the Osterhout Design Group incorporates augmented reality capabilities for military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. This study presents a specific systems approach model to examine three cases of effective use of smart glasses for learning in higher education. Although the institutions highlighted here currently spearhead efforts in the United States for regional students, their experiences with smart glasses

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provide practitioners across the globe a better understanding of how to design and implement innovative applications of digital technology for transnational education.

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Systems Approach to Technology-Based Instruction

Systems approach within an organization attempts to consider internal and external factors, as well as, interactions among them, that may influence a specific developmental effort. Many theoretical models exist in the literature that illustrate the characteristics of a systems approach. Research by Dettmer (2007) and Bible and Bivins (2011) describe two systems approach models for business. Dick and Carey’s (1996) and Morrison, Ross, Kalman, and Kemp’s (2010) research describes systems approach models for education. Common to all of these models is an iterative process that includes the following steps: define problem through needs assessment, identify and prioritize goals and objectives, develop solutions, and align resources to support intended outcomes. Effective use of digital strategies in higher education to facilitate learning through innovative applications of smart glasses represents an effort dependent upon systems approach for successful implementation. A multitude of factors related to both instruction and the organization requires consideration. Digital technology and digital computing permeates all aspects of higher education, and applications of technology-based teaching do not operate in isolation of other departments and functions. Successful delivery of innovative learning activities such as those supported by smart glasses technology, occurs best when aligned not only to instructional needs, but also to broader enrollment and financial goals of the institution (Schmitz-Weiss, 2015a; Wilkinson, Taylor, Peterson, & Machado-Taylor, 2007). However, the role of instructional design to address instructional needs is paramount when considering implementation of digital strategies for learning. Instructional design guides interaction among instructors, students, and content (Denton, 2012; Dick & Carey, 1996). Historically, educators have struggled to engage significantly students when using technology-based education, and this is even more so in the digital world (Boag, 2014). Faculty knowledgeable of digital devices may embrace social media apps such as wikis, blogs, and Twitter to facilitate student-to-student and student-to-instructor interaction (Woolsey, 2008). However, this interaction does not always represent learning. To maximize the use of technology for learning requires that pedagogical events be deliberate and align directly to the technological strengths of the digital tool.

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Figure 12.1, developed by this study’s authors, presents a systems approach model for designing and implementing digital strategies for learning in higher education. This model melds characteristics of technology-based digital learning with common characteristics found in several systems approaches across business and education, including those researched by Dettmer (2007), Bible and Bivins (2011), Dick and Carey (1996), and Morrison et al. (2010). Digital strategies are defined by issues related to pedagogy, as well as a more inclusive set of organizational constructs. Pedagogical considerations include student and instructor characteristics, performance outcomes, instructional materials, and the technology delivery vehicle. Organizational considerations include collaboration of cross-functional teams, marketability of academic programs, and alignment of learning to organization’s return on investment (ROI). The entire process is driven by ongoing iterative formative assessment, with summative evaluation at designated milestones.

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Digital Strategies for Maximizing Use of Technology for Learning

Academic institutions often struggle to integrate cross-functional collaborations to support technology-driven, organization-wide innovations. The mentality of controlled silos continues to persist at some colleges and universities (Denaro, 2013). Student administrative services and human resources staff often work in isolation from college faculty, and faculty and other academic personnel maintain limited communication with the information systems department and technical support (Keeling, Underhile, & Wall, 2007). Some practitioners believe there is no clear path to effective integration of the digital world in higher education. Boag (2014) lamented, “As soon as we succeed in putting one part of [our] vision in place, it becomes out of date [and] every step is a battle” (para. 6). Challenges to communication across functions on campus may continue in organizations of higher education. However, as evidenced by innovative approaches to technology-based instruction described in this study, colleges and universities that incorporate a broader, more inclusive set of collaborative activities across the institution, make real progress in moving closer to the integration of today’s digital world into student learning environments. Following is a discussion of the integration of the digital device of intelligent wearable smart glasses into the curriculum of higher education to facilitate learning. Employing a systems approach model, as described in Fig. 12.1, these innovative applications are examined for their capability to meet institutional goals and objectives, as well as the learning and teaching needs of students and instructors. As an effective digital strategy for learning in higher education,

figure 12.1 Systems approach for designing digital strategies for learning in higher education

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applications using smart glasses address not only pedagogical issues, but also the broader set of organizational concerns related to institutional business objectives, market relevance, and experiential learning.

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Methodology

The methodology used for this research was a comparative study of three cases in which digital strategies align application of smart glasses to innovative teaching and learning. A comparative study provides a versatile approach to parallel examination of two or more cases, with the intent to understand the influence of context (Goodrick, 2014). Cases represent behaviors occurring within a defined set of parameters (Creswell, 2010). The three cases in this study were selected using the following criteria: innovation of application (including description of smart glasses technology of augmented reality and live-streaming), information availability on cross-organizational involvement, and assessment of effectiveness of using smart glasses for learning. Data used in this study were collected from previously published works describing new applications of smart glasses in higher education. The innovative applications in each case evolved from individual efforts within the institutions. Additional information was not available, however, regarding preliminary assessment of availability and access to technology before the project started. A systems approach model for technology-based instruction was used to guide selective coding of the secondary data collected. Conclusions were organized around the constructs of the model, as related to design and implementation of digital strategies, including institutional business objectives, pedagogical characteristics and experiential learning, and market relevance of the application.

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Findings: Smart Glasses and Technology-Driven Innovation for Learning (Three Cases)

Research suggests that educators may enhance student learning by utilizing the technology that students already use in life (Freedman, 2012). Intelligent wearables qualify as these technologies. As reported by Boxall (2014) and Schmitz-Weiss (2015a), more than half of the young adults in the United States own or are interested in owning smart wearable devices. The literature describes intelligent wearables as digital accessories. These devices take the form of watches, glasses, jewelry, and/or articles of clothing

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(Boxall, 2014). As mobile computers, intelligent wearables consist of simulated or touch screens, keyboard capabilities, apps-driven operating systems, and wireless network connections. The three cases presented in this comparative study utilize the intelligent wearable of smart glasses to enhance learning in higher education. As a device, smart glasses are positioned over the wearer’s eyes, enhancing vision through virtual reality, augmented reality or diminished reality (Schweizer, 2014). Smart glasses may possess a single- or dual-visual display. A single display device may stream live video to the wearer’s peripheral vision, enhancing real-time learning experiences. Smart glasses with dual-vision capability, enable the wearer to see the real world, as well as, virtual content, or be immersed fully in virtual reality (Schmitz-Weiss, 2015a; Schweizer, 2014). This section describes the findings of smart glasses applications which occurred at three different institutions. Offitzer (2014) and Gayomali (2014), respectively, describe the work of two journalism professors—one at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, and the other at the University of Southern California (USC) in California. The third case involves a number of uses of smart glasses at Ohio Wesleyan University, in Ohio (Afshar, 2014). The type of smart glasses used at all three schools was Google Glass. However, the focus of this study is not on the specific product label, but rather the function, capability, and integration of the smart glasses technology. Employing a systems approach model for review, the three cases examined in this comparative study reveal important information about designing and implementing digital strategies for learning with smart glasses technology. Digital strategies are defined by issues related to pedagogy, and organizational constructs of marketability of programs and alignment of learning to an organization’s return on investment. Table 12.1 summarizes these findings. As indicated in Table 12.1, the curriculum goals of the journalism professors at Lehigh University and University of Southern California focus on different, yet not opposing, student outcomes. At Lehigh University, the curriculum requires students to deliver a four- to six-minute documentary using film recorded with Google Glass (Offitzer, 2014). The professor at the University of Southern California uses the journalism class to create an atmosphere of collaboration. This environment is one in which the students work in teams to create new software for Google Glass applications (Gayomali, 2014). In both of these cases, it is the student who wears the smart glasses, and it is the student who manages the learning process. In contrast, at Ohio Wesleyan University, use of smart glasses involves multiple wearers, including professors, students, and experts in the field. Afshar (2014) illustrated how some professors wear smart glasses in the classroom to provide extended resources in response to student questions, as well as to

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table 12.1  Comparison of smart glasses applications for learning in higher education

Case 1 Introduction of Professor Technology (individual) Application of Smart Glasses

Student primary wearer of device Class-focus Curriculum includes development and production of 4- to 6-minute documentary Organizational Bottom-up Development perspective

Case 2

Professor (individual) Information Technology (IT) Department Student, professor Student primary and/or fijield expert wearer of device may wear device Class-focus Curriculum includes Whole-organization creation of new apps focus Diverse and multiple for device applications across campus Bottom-up perspective

Top-down perspective

Instructor-centered learning Interaction and collaboration highlighted (primarily with professor and fijield expert as lead) Unknown (limited information available) Confijirmed

Student Learning

Self-determined learning Authentic practice of theory Student put in 1st person role as fijield practitioner

Self-determined learning Active inquiry and discovery Authentic problemsolving

Business Objectives

Unknown (limited information available) Confijirmed

Unknown (limited information available) Confijirmed

Market Relevance

Case 3

Case 1 = Lehigh University Case 2 = University of Southern California Case 3 = Ohio Wesleyan University

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receive real-time feedback on physical teaching methodologies. Students wear smart glasses to connect remotely with professors, receiving instant translation and clarification of content when needed. Expert professionals wear smart glasses to provide students with real-time, and ultimately recorded, virtually guided fieldtrips to hard-to-reach and/or dangerous locations. As Afshar (2014) described, some of these content experts participate from Antarctica, the Oval Office, and CERN (high-intensity particle accelerator located in Geneva, Switzerland).

7

Discussion

Examination of the three cases in this study highlights several differences in approach to the applications of smart glasses across campus at Ohio Wesleyan University, and in the journalism professors’ classes at Lehigh University and University of Southern California . First, the introduction of the technology differs at the schools. The introduction of smart glasses at Ohio Wesleyan came from the university’s information services office. The department of Information Technology (IT) purchased the hardware and software, and then brainstormed with faculty and administrative groups to come up with diverse uses (Afshar, 2014). The journalism professors at Lehigh and USC, on the other hand, each engaged the Google Glass product as an individual innovator within their respective programs. The instructors considered the technology’s capability to enhance learning and the role it may play in building student skills. According to Offitzer (2014) and Gayomali (2014), the Lehigh and USC professors, respectively, were seeking a way to enable students to experience real journalistic behaviors. Offitzer (2014) explained that journalism classes used to teach students how “to tell stories in third person” (para. 18); now with smart glasses, the professor can teach first person perspective, or how “to see a story through a source’s eyes” (para. 18). Additional variations in application of smart glasses at Ohio Wesleyan University, Lehigh University, and University of Southern California relate to the learning process and student-instructor roles. At both Lehigh University and University of Southern California, the journalism professors utilize smart glasses as a tool to facilitate self-determined learning, a concept Blaschke (2012) described that includes student-centered processes driven by open access to information and the need to solve a problem. As such, students work autonomously from the instructor, alone, or with others, to create deliverables new to the field. Accordingly, students at Lehigh use smart glasses to facilitate authentic practice of journalism theory (Offitzer, 2014). At USC, students delve into Google Glass software capabilities, asking themselves more questions

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than may be readily answered, which is “part of the process [of journalism]” (Gayomali, 2014, para. 9). Students at Ohio Wesleyan University, in contrast, engage primarily in instructor-centered learning activities while using smart glasses (Afshar, 2014). The instructional goal ensures that students are connected to the professor or field practitioner as content knowledge expert. Future curriculum development at Ohio Wesleyan, as related to smart glasses, is not clearly described in the literature. However, as professors and instructors there become more experienced with hands-on activities, “ideas [for smart glasses applications] continue to multiply” (Afshar, 2014, para. 1). Various perspectives on learning influence how and why innovative technologies such as intelligent wearables are used within the curriculum, as illustrated by the cases of Ohio Wesleyan University, Lehigh University, and University of Southern California. However, to be successful in the long run, colleges and universities must convert these specific events into institutionalized digital strategies. As discussed earlier, digital strategies in higher education are those that incorporate cross-functional teams to design and implement technology-based learning that addresses both pedagogical and business objectives of the organization. Faculty, administrators, or technology personnel may take the lead when introducing innovations; however, all parties must work together to ensure the effort becomes part of the fabric of the enterprise (Berge, 2001). The systems approach model presented in Fig. 12.1 provides a workable template for review of the innovative application of intelligent wearables, specifically smart glasses, as seen at Ohio Wesleyan University, Lehigh University, and University of Southern California. This model represents an iterative process for the design and implementation of sustainable digital strategies in higher education. Following is discussion of characteristics of each case as related to this systems approach. The first step in this process is to determine organizational goals for student learning, instructor support, and financial return on investment (ROI) for the institution. Subsequent steps in the process include aligning strengths of the selected technology to student learning and using market relevance to move the innovative activity to an institutionalized effort. 7.1 Organizational Goals and Business Objectives The strength of innovative technology applications at Ohio Wesleyan, Lehigh University, and USC, as sustainable digital strategies, depends first on each institution’s success with developing multiple organizational goals to drive the innovation. As suggested by the systems approach model in Fig. 12.1, this ideally is accomplished by convening an interdisciplinary team with members

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from IT, academics, and the finance department (Blackwell, Wilson, Street, Boulton, & Knell, 2009). The resulting organizational goals may then be driven by business and learning objectives, and thus reflect shared interests and benefits across the institution (Boag, 2014; Fisher, 2015). Although strengthened by interdisciplinary teams, technology-driven innovations for learning may initially come from independent activities within the organization (Deschamps, 2008). Evidence suggests that this is what occurred at Ohio Wesleyan, Lehigh, and USC. The innovative uses of smart glasses in each case evolved from individual efforts. The personnel in the IT department at Ohio Wesleyan, and the journalism professors at Lehigh and USC, initially all behaved as independent initiators of innovation. However, an interesting phenomenon is that the developmental process for each innovation differs from an organizational perspective. For example, Ohio Wesleyan University’s approach to integrate smart glasses at the school represents a top-down perspective, and activities by Lehigh University and University of Southern California represent a bottom-up perspective. Top-down processes originate from functions and individuals with higher organizational rank and separate budget. Bottom-up initiatives progress most often from individuals who are hierarchically subordinate, possess limited funds, and yet have power enough to act autonomously with minimal interference from others in the organization (Lister, 2015; Sebell, 2012). Advantages and disadvantages exist with both organizational perspectives on technology-driven innovation. Deschamps (2008) and Fast Company (2005) explained the benefits of top-down initiatives as including readily available funding, defined timelines, and control when needed to rein in activities that may become inconsistent with the organization’s vision and mission. However, Smith (2013) counters that such methods may squash entrepreneurial spirit, which is that “mindset that embraces critical questions [and] innovation” (para. 1). Sebell (2012) agrees, suggesting that top-down initiatives often are incremental and hold back natural creativity of workers. Ohio Wesleyan University, Lehigh University, and the University of Southern California illustrate that colleges and universities can reap benefits for business and student learning when embracing top-down and/or bottomup approaches to technology-driven innovation. The key is for the institution to focus on the strengths of each perspective. Kumar (2014) reminded us that no one is more “passionate about an organization’s products” (para. 5; in this case, student learning) than the “customer” (para. 5) and those closest to him. The journalism professors at Lehigh and USC exemplify this sentiment, working from the bottom-up with students to create an innovative learning environment with intelligent wearables. In contrast, Sebell (2012) proclaimed, “The higher the goal, the higher the role” (para. 10), which is consistent with

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a perceived business benefit by IT and its subsequent top-down support for smart-glasses activities at Ohio Wesleyan. Most important, once success is attained with single educational events, regardless of the organization’s initial approach to this success, innovative activities must then engage a broader group of supporters to institutionalize the effort. Initial innovators experience an opportunity at this time to expand involvement among colleagues and collaboratively explore ways to develop and accomplish the institution’s pedagogical and business goals as part of the innovation. This is particularly critical when facilitating cross-functional dialogue early in the process of innovation (Rae, 2008). Referring to Fig. 12.1, an organization that embraces an iterative systems approach to instructional design and the development of digital strategies benefits from formative feedback, aiding its efforts to institutionalize and sustain initial successes with technology such as smart glasses for learning. 7.2 Pedagogy and Experiential Learning Continuing review of the innovative applications of intelligent wearables by Ohio Wesleyan University, Lehigh University, and the University of Southern California includes discussion of the alignment of the selected technology to actual student learning and use of market relevance to move the innovative activity to an institutionalized effort. As stated earlier, to qualify as an effective digital strategy for learning in higher education, the technology-based application must address not only pedagogical issues, but also a broader set of concerns related to business, market relevance, and experiential learning. The literature available for this study provides limited information regarding the organizational business objectives of Ohio Wesleyan University, Lehigh University, and the University of Southern California as related to use of technology for education. However, significant information is available that provides insight into the characteristics of the technology of smart glasses, their impact on students who build capability with this technology, and the resulting relationship of student knowledge and skills to marketability for the institution. Regarding characteristics of the selected technology, smart glasses possess a unique capability to deliver information from a first-person perspective. As such, the journalism class curricula at Lehigh and USC effectively aligned this capability to student learning outcomes. At Lehigh University, for example, learning activities put the student in the role of field practitioner. The student, acting as a journalist, utilized the power of smart glasses to record with a bird’s-eye view a source’s response, including not only verbal comments but also nonverbal body language and other affectations (Offitzer, 2014). Student

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outcomes included a four- to six-minute documentary, providing the viewer an actual first-person account of the news story. The teaching design at University of Southern California evolved from the journalism professor’s interest in reporting from first-person perspective as well. However, this instructor considered smart glasses technology still “too weird looking for most observers” (Gayomali, 2014, para. 4). Consequently, a curriculum was developed that created a collaborative learning environment for the students and instructed them to build a better mousetrap, so to speak. The final directive to the students was to use smart glasses in the classroom and the field, and then assess their strengths and weaknesses and develop software applications to improve use of the wearable technology (Gayomali, 2014). The smart glasses applications at Ohio Wesleyan are described in the literature with fewer details; however, evidence supports that innovations here also aligned strengths of the technology to student learning. As Afshar (2014) described, direct contact between students and field experts wearing smart glasses facilitated real-time interaction and collaboration. Data of student experiences were available immediately and enabled instructors to provide personalized support in the form of “real time language translation” (para. 8) for foreign students and “impromptu content as required by student questions” (para. 6) for all students. Evident in the innovative learning applications with smart glasses at all three institutions is the capability of the technology to present information from a new perspective and with ever-growing accessibility. Researchers recognize this capability and see an evolving phenomenon in which digital devices are changing the way individuals learn. Brown (2005) advocated that student learning is experiencing a paradigm shift, from content-driven, to information-driven and problem-solving perspectives. Richtel (2012) agrees, stating that learning in a digital world becomes less about accessing information, and more about processing information. Banerjee and Belson (2015) and Loretto (2016) expanded further, suggesting that digital education moves students from content to connections through direct experience and reflection. Interestingly, all of these descriptions reflect experiential learning. 7.3 Market Relevance of Innovative Learning Application Continuing the review of digital strategies for technology-based innovations with smart glasses in higher education at Ohio Wesleyan University, Lehigh University, and the University of Southern California, brings attention to a final construct known as market relevance. Market relevance in higher education refers to knowledge and skills identified by a profession as desirable for students and needed for employability (Pan & Perera, 2012). Understanding market

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relevance of technology-based innovation helps colleges and universities in several ways. First, knowledge of employer needs within a profession aids instructors in integrating technology with applicable curriculum (SchmitzWeiss, 2015a). Understanding the connection between technology-based learning and employability of graduates further strengthens course offerings and helps to clarify image and subsequent brand of the educational program or school (Kennedy, 2008). Finally, tying innovative technology and learning to student employment creates value for both the institution and the student, increases enrollment, and begins to move initial efforts to institutionalized and sustainable practices (Bhide, 2009; Schneider, 2013). Examination of innovative applications of smart glasses at Lehigh University and University of Southern California, and in multiple smart glasses activities across the campus at Ohio Wesleyan University, reveals alignment of curriculum to future professional needs of students and market relevance of learning experiences at all three institutions. Regarding applications at Lehigh University and the University of Southern California, Pimbblet (2013) suggested that intelligent wearables such as smart glasses may be one of the most important upcoming tools for journalism and mass communications professions. Schmitz-Weiss (2015b) agreed, suggesting that use of smart glasses in journalism class enables such programs to create “a new market of professionals who have the latest skills and techniques to do their job” (para. 19). Innovative applications with smart glasses across campus at Ohio Wesleyan University provide a different experience than that at Lehigh University and University of Southern California, yet equally important regarding market relevance. Use of smart glasses at Ohio Wesleyan provides opportunities for students to experiment with new technology. Students discover new innovative ways to use smart glasses, not only to enhance learning but also to “incorporate…into society’s future” (Afshar, 2014, para. 18). Hart Research Associates (2013) acknowledged the significance of such student experiences, describing employers’ view that “[candidate potential for] innovation is a priority” (para. 3). Market relevance and return on investment of innovative digital strategies such as those using smart glasses in higher education, may by realized by the college or university in a short period of time, or later as long-term benefits. Schneider (2013) suggested that technology-based skills with an immediate applicability in the field, reap professional short-term benefits. Other skills, such as information management, critical thinking, and complex problem solving, suggested earlier as by-products of learning with digital devices such as smart glasses, offer long-term employment gains for students (Hart Research Associates, 2013).

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Conclusions

Several conclusions may be drawn from this study that relate to student performance and organizational development. First, regarding student performance, smart glasses provide a viable platform for self-determined learning. With the student as wearer of the digital device, and instructional strategies appropriately aligned to the strengths of smart glasses technology, students may increase active inquiry and discovery of information, engage in authentic practice of theory in the field, and move toward mastery of critical thinking and problem solving. Focusing on the importance of designing instruction, which aligns the strengths of the smart glasses technology to student performance outcomes, brings the second conclusion to light. Smart glasses technology provides a firstperson experience for the wearer, as well as opens up immediate access to what seems to be unlimited amounts of content information. To benefit from this access, learning events must facilitate successful information management, as well as guide student processing of information for critical thinking and complex problem solving. To enhance student experiences, instructors integrating smart glasses must recognize the paradigm shift in student learning from content-driven to information-driven, and plan accordingly. Another conclusion of this study is the realization that top-down and bottom-up organizational processes can both effectively implement digital strategies for innovative use of smart glasses in higher education. Initial success of independent bottom-up efforts provides a venue for engaging a broader group of colleagues. This in turn prompts cross-functional dialogue and development of shared organizational goals and business objectives. Topdown initiatives, on the other hand, come with readily available funding and defined timelines. As supported by Fig. 12.1, it is the organization that embraces an iterative systems approach to designing digital strategies that benefit from formative feedback. This in turn informs the institution regarding the best developmental process (e.g., bottom-up or top-down) for it. The final conclusion of this study highlights the use of market relevance of student learning experiences to move innovative applications to institutionalized and sustainable practices. Market relevance of learning with smart glasses implies a perceived usefulness for the college or university. Employers view graduates of these innovative digital-based programs as competitive candidates for hire, and the institution enjoys growth as a result of increasing student populations attracted by a projected image or brand. Tying digital learning technology to enrollment appears to create value for the organization and begins to move initial innovations to sustained institutional efforts.

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Recommendations for Future Research

Two areas for future research surfaced as this comparative study concluded. First, limited information is available in the cases studied here regarding business objectives of the institutions, nor is there much information on marketing efforts of the academic programs using smart glasses. This brings to mind the concept of educational branding and its role in sustaining technologybased learning in higher education in the United States. Branding suggests selling a psychological disposition or lifestyle, rather than a specific product (Mulhere, 2015). One area of future research may investigate the relationships among higher education branding, technology-based learning, and behavioral dispositions such as lifestyle. The second area recommended for further research relates to the process of learning. Because of student use of digital devices such as smart glasses, a paradigm shift in learning is occurring from content-driven to informationdriven processes. This phenomenon elevates the importance of heutagogy. The literature defines heutagogy as self-determined learning with integrated authentic practice (Blaschke, 2012). Evidence provided by two of the three cases suggests that use of smart glasses as digital strategy for learning in higher education facilitates student-centered self-directly learning. Future research may examine the impact of smart glasses on heutagogy.

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No. 760). Cambridge: University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. Retrieved from https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/techreports/UCAM-CL-TR-760.pdf Blaschke, L. M. (2012). Heutagogy and lifelong learning: A review of heutagogical practice and self-determined learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 13(1), 56–71. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1076/2087 Boag, P. (2014, May 21). Higher education and digital transformation [Web log comment]. Retrieved from https://boagworld.com/digital-strategy/the-higher-educationneeds-to-face-the-digital-reality/ Boxall, A. (2014, November 29). Forget smart watches and glasses, smart clothing will be hottest trend of 2015 [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.digitaltrends.com/wearables/smart-clothing-garments-at-ces-2015and-beyond/#/3 Brown, T. H. (2005). Beyond constructivism: Exploring future learning paradigms. Education Today, 2, 14–30. Retrieved from http://www.bucks.edu/old_docs/ academics/facultywebresources/Beyond_constructivism.pdf Creswell, J. W. (2010). Educational research: Planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Denaro, C. (2013, May 17). Why silos are bad in higher education [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://mediashift.org/2015/03/how-to-embrace-innovativelearning-opportunity-with-wearables Denton, D. W. (2012). Enhancing instruction through constructivism, co-operative learning, and cloud computing. TechTrends, 56(4), 34–41. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.trident.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? vid=4&sid=0fc3fa85-2755-4869-ba39-014cf75d5b2a%40sessionmgr4005&hid=4109 Deschamps, J.-P. (2008). Innovation leadership in practice—II. Retrieved from http://www.imd.org/research/challenges/TC052-08.cfm Dettmer, W. H. (2007). The logical thinking process: A systems approach to complex problem solving. Milwaukee, WI: Quality Press. Dick, W., & Carey, L. (1996). The systematic design of instruction. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers. Fast Company. (2005, August 8). Innovation—top down or bottom up? [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/671304/innovation-topdown-or-bottom Fisher, M. (2015). Digital learning strategies: How do I assign and assess 21st century work? Danvers, MA: American Society for Curriculum Development. Freedman, G. (2012). Cloud technology can lift the fog over higher education. Chronicle of Higher Education, 58(35), B22–B23. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/ Cloud-Technology-Can-Lift-the/131673/

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Gayomali, C. (2014, April 3). Meet the USC journalism professor leading a course on Google Glass [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/3028476/ whos-next/meet-the-usc-journalism-professor-leading-a-course-on-google-glass Goodrick, D. (2014, September). Comparative case studies (UNICEF Methodological Briefs, Impact Evaluation No. 9). Retrieved from http://devinfolive.info/impact_ evaluation/ie/img/downloads/Comparative_Case_Studies_ENG.pdf Hart Research Associates. (2013). It takes more than a major: Employer priorities for college learning and student success. Liberal Education, 99(2), 22–29. Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/publications-research/periodicals/it-takes-more-majoremployer-priorities-college-learning-and Keeling, R., Underhile, R., & Wall, A. (2007). Horizontal and vertical structures: The dynamics of organization in higher education. Liberal Education, 93(4), 22–31. Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/publications-research/periodicals/ horizontal-and-vertical-structures-dynamics-organization-higher Kennedy, R. (2008). 50 best branding ideas: How colleges and universities are successfully creating and communicating their brands. University Business, 11(12), 45–50. Retrieved from http://www.universitybusiness.com/article/50-best-brandingideas Kumar, V. (2014, April 22). Why bottom-up innovation trumps top-down innovation [Web log comment]. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/201404221243361853953-why-bottom-up-innovation-trumps-top-down-innovation Lister, J. (2015). The difference between top down and bottom up strategic management. Houston, TX: Demand Media. Long, P., & Siemens, G. (2011). Penetrating the fog: Analytics in learning and education. EDUCAUSE Review, 46(5), 30–32. Retrieved from http://er.educause.edu/ articles/2011/9/penetrating-the-fog-analytics-in-learning-and-education Loretto, P. (2016, July 2). The difference between an internship and a co-op: The value of experiential education [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://internships.about.com/od/internships101/p/TypesExperEd.htm Mercado, S., & Gibson, L. (2013, August 1). The key elements of Transnational Education (TNE) [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.eaie.org/blog/key-elementstransnational-education-tne/ Morrison, G., Ross, S., Kalman, H., & Kemp, J. (2010). Designing effective instruction (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Mulhere, K. (2015, April 14). Booming brand campaigns [Web log comment]. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/04/14/survey-finds-marketingofficials-pleased-outcomes-branding-projects Offitzer, A. (2014, April 10). Learning how to use Google Glass as a teaching tool [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://ajr.org/2014/04/10/google-glass-journalism-newperspective/

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Pan, P., & Perera, H. (2012). Market relevance of university accounting programs: Evidence from Australia. Accounting Forum, 36, 91–108. Retrieved from http://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/14.pdf Pimbblet, K. A. (2013, September 10). How Google Glass could evolve social media [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/howgoogle-glass-could-evolve-social-media Rae, J. (2008, July 28). P&G changes its game [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2008-07-28/p-and-g-changes-itsgamebusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice Rajaei, H., & Aldakheel, E. A. (2012, June). Cloud computing in computer science and engineering education. Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, TX. Retrieved from https://peer.asee.org/cloudcomputing-in-computer-science-and-engineering-education Richtel, M. (2012, November 1). Technology is changing how students learn, teachers say. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/ education/technology-is-changing-how-students-learn-teachers-say.html?_r=0 Sage, A., & Rouse, W. (Eds.). (2009). Handbook of systems engineering and management (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Schmitz-Weiss, A. (2015a). Wearable technologies: Possibilities in bringing innovative learning experiences to the classroom (Unpublished manuscript). School of Journalism and Media Studies, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/digitalamysw/wearable-techineducationschmitzweiss Schmitz-Weiss, A. (2015b, March 2). How wearable devices fare among students [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://mediashift.org/2015/03/how-to-embraceinnovative-learning-opportunity-with-wearables Schneider, M. (2013). Does education pay? Issues in Science and Technology, 30(1), 33–38. Retrieved from http://issues.org/30-1/does-education-pay/ Schweizer, H. (2014, December). Smart glasses: Technology and applications. Paper presented at The Doctoral Symposium of the 7th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Utility and Cloud Computing, London. Retrieved from https://www.vs.inf.ethz.ch/edu/FS2014/UCS/reports/HermannSchweizer_ SmartGlassesTechnologyApplications_report.pdf Sebell, M. (2012, September 19). Should innovation be top-down or bottom-up?…It depends! [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.creativerealities.com/ innovationist-blog/bid/109413/Should-Innovation-Be-Top-Down-Or-Bottom-Up-ItDepends Smith, J. (2013, October 22). How to keep your entrepreneurial spirit alive as the company you work for grows [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/ sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/10/22/how-to-keep-your-entrepreneurial-spirit-alive-asthe-company-you-work-for-grows/

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Deborah Schreiber University of Laverne, USA Laura Hyatt University of Laverne, USA

chapter 13

Different Voices: Guest Speakers as Pedagogy in a Culture Class Kaishan Kong

1

Introduction

Inviting guest speakers or industrial professionals into classroom discussion is a common and popular practice in education. Multiple scholars have pinpointed the significance of such practice. Davis (1993) suggested using guest speakers with expertise and practice experience as an alternative to lectures to promote student engagement. Payne, Sumta, and Sun (2003) synthesized at least three major objectives that using guest speakers could fulfill: (1) bringing the field into the classroom; (2) opening the students’ minds to varying viewpoints; and (3) altering students’ attitudes and perceptions in favorable ways. While guest speakers may not have the teaching pedagogies, they themselves are the pedagogy. Although guest speakers are invited in many classes, most of them are seen in the field of management and social work. There is a lack of research on guest speakers in the context of cultural learning. This chapter examines a culture course that has utilized guest speakers as an essential element in constructing students’ learning, and shares the results of students’ feedback. The purpose is to display the course design and to unveil the benefits of guest speakers as pedagogy by using students’ feedback.

2

Literature Review

Increasing scholars documented students’ feedback and engagement to study the impact of this pedagogy. Metrejean, Pittman and Zarzeski (2002) joined the concerted effort in the academic accounting profession to involve guest speakers in the classroom, in order to expose the accounting students to early employment experience. The authors conducted a five-year longitudinal study on the guest speaker events, and gathered compelling data from students’ multiple surveys including immediate after the event, one year after the event and at a later date. McCleary and Weaver (2009) addressed the © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi 10.1163/9789004366077_013

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benefits of having industry executives and managers in class discussion in the hospitality and tourism education. Riebe, Sibson, Roepen, and Meakins (2013) adopted a mixed methods approach to investigate the impact of engaging guest speakers in the leadership undergraduate education in Australia. Findings showed the value of having guest speakers to address employability skills development, as well as reminding the importance of taking students’ cultural background into consideration when analyzing students’ feedback on the guest speakers. Besides traditional classrooms, inviting guest speakers to an on-line discussion is also prevalent. Kumari (2001) documented a student participation peak when the technology practitioners were engaged in the an on-line discussion. In a study of two virtual guest speakers’ facilitation of on-line instructional technology class with 16 graduate students, Hemphill and Hemphill (2007) reported an increased frequent and meaningful interaction among students. Ostorga and Farruggio (2013) argued that virtual guest speakers served as a catalyst for critical thinking among undergraduate students. Despite various models of engaging guest speakers, through either in-class discussion, synchronous on-line conversation or asynchronous facilitation, results lent support to the notion that guest speakers enrich education by providing first-hand knowledge, offering career-specific information, presenting informal networking opportunities and broadening range of ideas (Byrd, Byrd, & Nichols, 1989; Metrejean et al., 2002; Wortman, 1992). Leor (2015) noted, A Guest Speaker can be a great tool for the improvement of a class, because it offers a new perspective and variety in the way it is taught, while it provides important specific subjects that are often omitted from a regular class. That in turn brings a better learning experience to the students, the teacher and even the guest speaker. (p. 21) While existing scholarship offers optimistic insights regarding using guest speakers as a teaching pedagogy, this current paper identifies two concerns: the practicality of inviting guest speakers and the lack of empirical studies in integrating guest speakers in cultural exchange. 2.1 The Practicality of Inviting Guest Speakers In his overview of the highs and lows of this particular pedagogy, Leor (2015) raised a thought-provoking question, “ Why is this method barely used in classrooms, if it is as successful as the studies have shown?” (p. 21). Leor (2015) summarized four possible factors that may influence the utilization of guest speakers in teaching: (1) Time constraint. There is a constant battle between

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too much content and too little time, which frequently discourages a teacher from inviting outside speakers to class. (2) Logistic challenge. This refers to both the guest speakers’ time schedule and the transportation options. (3) Affordability. Inviting guest speakers sometimes involves transportation and accommodation expenses, which is often an issue in school budget. (4) Accessibility to technology support. A shortage in technology in a given classroom or school district can also be a problem for guest speakers’ presentations. After guest speakers are identified and invited, Sage (2013) also raised a list of considerations, especially in social work classrooms where students may discuss controversial topics, including protecting guest speakers’ privacy and other legal concerns. These factors are worth considering because they reflect an array of predicaments faced by the teachers. Engaging guest speakers in class is not an isolated teaching application in education, rather is is related to the holistic educational approach and policy. 2.2

Lack of Empirical Studies in Integrating Guest Speakers in Cultural Exchange Among the extensive literature and studies on utilizing guest speakers in teaching practice, a sizeable number of such studies are in the realm of business management, social work, accounting and sexual education. Numerous scholars emphasized that inviting industrial professionals such as businessmen, HR directors and certified accountants could offer students some practical tips on professional responsibilities and the opportunity to connect theory and practice (Metrejean et al., 2002; Ostorga & Farruggio, 2013). Meanwhile, controversial subjects also benefit from engaging individuals, either professional in social work or victims of sexual assaults, to the classroom. Guest speakers could offer first-hand information with students, which may not be offered by the teachers without such direct experiences. Sage (2013) shared the results of having guest speakers in the social work classrooms to offer students the perspectives as a practitioner or a consumer in the social service field. McRee, Madsen, and Eisenberg (2014), after analyzing data from a statewide survey, concluded that, “teachers who included guest speakers covered more sexuality topics and were more likely to cover controversial topics” (p. 205). Students reported that they felt more comfortable discussing such controversial topics with the professionals than their classroom teachers. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of studies on involving guest speakers for intercultural communication or in cultural classes. Inviting guest speakers either from that target culture or with substantial experiences from the target culture will bring theory to life through providing alternative perspectives and giving personal stories. Their cultural capital will enrich students’

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learning experiences, provide more authentic explanations and allow diverse interpretations of the target culture.

3

Theoretical Frameworks

This project drew from two overarching theoretical frameworks: transformative learning (Mezirow, 1997, 2000) and collaborative social constructive learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 2011). The former enlightens the importance of shifting frame of reference (Mezirow, 1997) towards other perspectives while the latter accentuates the essentiality of learning in a community. These two are the purposes of the culture class concerning this chapter. 3.1 Transformative Learning Transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1997) perceives learning as a constructive and reflective process wherein a learner’s knowledge flows forth from critically reflecting on their experiences. It is a process to implement change in a frame of reference (Mezirow, 1997, 2000). Mezirow (2000) defined a frame of reference as a “meaning perspective”, the structures of assumptions through which we understand our experiences and we filter sense impressions. In other words, a set of assumptions shape individuals’ expectations, perceptions, cognition and feelings, which affect individual’s judgment over others’ behaviors and opinions. As a result, individuals “have a strong tendency to reject ideas that fail to fit our preconceptions, labeling those ideas as unworthy of consideration—aberrations, nonsense, irrelevant, weird, or mistaken” (Mezirow, 1997, p. 5). To foster a change of frame of reference, transformative learning perspectives suggest four processes of learning towards perspective transformation: (1) to elaborate an existing point of view, (2) to establish new points of view through communication, (3) to transform our point of view through language to demonstrate growing tolerance and acceptance of other perspectives, and finally the most important yet most challenging one (4) to transform our habit of mind, which means individuals are more aware and reflective of one’s own bias. Although transformative learning theories have developed over the last decade and allow variations, the emphasis is repeatedly placed on creating a supportive, interactive and learner-centered environment where learners learn from each other and with each other. Mezirow (2000) pointed out 10 phases during transformation, including: 1 A disorienting dilemma, 2 Self-examination with feelings of fear, anger, guilt, or shame,

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3 A critical assessment of assumptions, 4 Recognition that one’s discontent and the process of transformation are shared, 5 Exploration of options for new roles, relationships, and actions, 6 Planning a Course of action, 7 Acquiring knowledge and skills for implementing one’s plans, 8 Provisional trying of new roles, 9 Building competence and self-confidence in new roles and relationships, 10 A reintegration into one’s life on the basis of conditions dictated by one’s new perspective. Studies show that having guest speakers to interact with students could create an enduring impact on students’ learning in multiple ways, reflected in the phases of the transformative learning. In Agha-Jaffar’s (2000) study on a Women’s Studies course, the author used multiple examples to illustrate how each carefully selected guest speaker could connect with students in a different way to stimulate perspective transformation. For instance, one of the guest speakers was a successful career woman to address women employability and meaningful employment. This particular speaker shared her disadvantaged background, which was not only inspiring but also stimulating to students’ inferiority complex feelings. Students were inspired to consider their own privilege, examine their assumptions and reshape the meaning of success. Study results showed that having a member of the community sharing the information on the work is “far more meaningful and leaves a significant impact on students” (Agha-Jaffar, 2000, p. 2). This interaction reflected the phase 2 and 3 in the transformative learning theory. In the same light, Lee and Greene (2004) discussed some effective teaching strategies and proposed a transformative teaching model for the multicultural social work education. The authors suggested a variety of exercises that would encourage interactions between students and community members; and underpinned the effectiveness of “inviting guest speakers from culturally diverse backgrounds to share with students their history, values, customs, practices, experiences in the United States” (p. 17). Additionally, Lee and Greene (2004) believed that inviting guest speakers “who already made a difference in the community can also inspire students for responsive actions with diverse populations besides imparting culture-specific knowledge”. This echoes the phase 5 and 6 along the perspective transformation process. Creating a constructive and interactive learning environment where students can interview a guest speaker is considered as an effective teaching strategy. These strategies may not lead to transformative learning alone, but are compelling catalysts in the process.

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3.2 Social Constructivist Learning and Community of Practice Another body of literature informing the current project is social constructivist learning, in particular the notion of community of practice created by Lave and Wenger (1991). “Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly” (Wenger, 2011, p. 1). Community of practice provided an innovative approach to learning, by focusing on people and the social structures that would enable the individuals to learn with each other and learn from each other. The beauty of this approach is to allow and encourage connections among people across organizational and geographic boundaries. This is particularly important in an intercultural class, by engaging people who have lived through the experience to share their authentic views. In this study, even though the guest speakers did not interact with the students on a regular basis, their cross cultural, cross professional and cross social background connected with students in a differing yet impactful way. The students, on the other hand, formed the community in which they collaborated to build a fund of knowledge and explore cultural understanding as a community. Community of practice reflects the essence of social constructivist learning theory that stresses the compelling power of collaboration between students and others outside the university community (Hodgkinson-Williams, Slay, & Sieborger, 2008). Multiple studies uncovered the collaborative impact brought by guest speakers. In order to help students understand the concepts in his Quality Management course, Ballard (2008) invited guest speakers from hundreds of miles away to interact with the undergraduate students over the phone. Eveleth and Baker-Eveleth (2009) documented another guest speaker activity that was regularly utilized in courses such as leadership and organizational behavior, and Human Resources Management. What was innovative was that students were the ones that invited the guest speakers, following the professor’s instructions. The actual process allowed students to apply course concepts in reality and to practice multiple skills that were germane to the course learning goals. Transformative learning theory and the social constructivist learning are suitable for this current project, because they both emphasize the importance of a collaborative environment to allow learning from each other. Mezirow (1997) stated, “In fostering self-direction, the emphasis is on creating an environment in which learners become increasingly adept at learning from each other and at helping each other learn in problem-solving groups. The educator functions as a facilitator and provocateur rather than as an authority on subject matter” (p. 11). This echoes the importance of learning in a community towards a mutual goal.

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3.3 C4P Model and Adaptation To apply social constructivist learning in a virtual learning setting, Hoadley and Kilner (2005) created a C4P model to transform communities of practice into knowledge-building communities through technology. The authors considered that “the C4P framework is described as a way of understanding how knowledge is created and disseminated by participants in a community of practice” (p. 31).

figure 13.1 C4P Framework for communities of practice ( from Hoadley & Kilner, 2005, p. 34, reprinted here with permission)

The four Cs in the framework in Fig. 13.1 refer to Content, Conversation, Connections and informational Context, all of which serve the Purpose of the course. According to Hoadley and Kilner (2005), Content refers to explicit, static knowledge objects such as documents or video clips, whereas conversation refers to face-to-face or online discussions…. Connections, as used in C4P, refer to interpersonal contacts between community members that involve some level of relationship… Information context is the who, what, where, when, why, and how that enables community members to assess whether and how information is relevant to them. This context provides the richness of detail that makes information meaningful and memorable. Finally, purpose is the reason for which the members come together in the community. (p. 33) This framework visualizes that concept of communities of practice. It highlights the key elements that generate knowledge, including purposeful conversations around content in a certain context. Although this particular framework was created for online communities, the elements are important

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and should be present in other learning settings, both on line and off-line. As such, Hodgekinson-Williams, Slay, and Sieborger (2008) adopted the C4P framework to engage students at the Computer Science and Education Department at the Rhodes University and local communities to form a virtual and physical community of practice. The study aimed to examine the opportunities that were offered through information and communication technologies to connect higher education institutes around the globe, and between the higher education institutes and the local community. This study provided an example of integrating C4P framework and technology to unfold possible benefits of engaging community members. The current project, however, differs from the previous study in two ways: (1) The current study was situated in a culture class, where students learned about other cultures. As culture is a complex, nuanced, dynamic, fluid and ever-changing topic, it is important to accentuate the cultural context. (2) To elicit transformative learning, reflection is a profound practice. Creating an environment and activities for students to contemplate should be an important element in the framework. Therefore, I adapted the C4P model (Hoadley & Kilner, 2005) by making two revisions (Fig. 13.2): (1) I replaced Connections with Contemplation because in order to elicit deep learning, reflection and contemplation are valued in transformative learning. In the original C4P model, connections were more important and stressed in the online community. Transformative learning theories have placed contemplation at the central place to stress the importance of critical reflection. (2) I also substituted Information Context with Cultural Context to be more germane to the particular course in this study. Although knowing where the information comes from is unarguably important, it is equally, if not more, significant to consider the cultural context where perspectives are formed. As Mezirow (1997) aptly pointed out, “to facilitate transformative learning,

figure 13.2 Revised C4P framework for community of practice in the culture class

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educators must help learners become aware and critical of their own and others’ assumptions” (p. 10). For both guest speakers and audiences, taking each other’s cultural background into consideration will help develop empathy and foster genuine communication. Hoadley and Kilner’s (2005) C4P framework was created for an online learning environment and contributed valuable insights to knowledge-building community, especially in the virtual learning setting. The adapted model, on the other hand, highlights the importance of contemplative practice and the influence of cultural context in knowledge building.

4

Methodology

This section will begin with a detailed description of the teaching context and course design, then will explain the planning and implementation of the guest speakers’ series, and finally display the qualitative coding from the data analysis. 4.1 Setting and Participants This pedagogy was adopted in a course titled Foreign Civilization and Culture with a focus on China, taught at a small mid-western university in the United States. This was one of the General Education (GE) courses for students to take in order to satisfy the culture course requirement. This campus has around 10,000 students and about 50% are first generation college students. Many of the students have not traveled abroad before or have little exposure to Chinese society and culture. This course has been taught for three semesters to 104 students: 25 in the first semester, 29 in the second semester and 50 in the third semester. This was a 3-credit lecture class, meaning students met twice a week, 75 minutes each. 4.2 Course Design This course was an introduction to Chinese culture and society. Students were expected to examine Chinese cultures and society from critical lenses and consider them as diverse, multifaceted and changeable concepts. Students were introduced to academic readings, media resources and other authentic materials to attain knowledge in cultural and social products, practice and perspectives. Discussion, anecdotes, guest speakers and cultural hands-on practice were adopted in class to foster learning. Even though the actual topics discussed in the course evolved over three semesters, based on students’ feedback and the faculty’s reflection on teaching results, some key topics that have been included in all three semesters included:

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Festivals and holidays Ethnicity and diversity Education Marriage Foreigners in China Government and society Cultural values and customs Young generation and popular cultures Languages

Each topic, depending on the depth and breadth, had various length of teaching time. Typical approaches to each topic included: 1 Before the class: The students’ preparations included doing readings, watching video clips and posting their responses to prompts online. If a guest speaker was invited to the class, students were also required to read about the guest speaker’s biography and raise 2–3 questions related to the topic. 2 During the class: The faculty facilitated the discussions around students’ response to on-line questions; gave a lecture, and invited guest speakers to interact with students. A few guest speakers were able to be present in class, but most Skyped in from elsewhere in the world. 3 After the class: The students were required to complete a customized feedback form after each guest speaker regarding the effectiveness of such guest speaker and raise follow-up questions. 4.3 Reflection of C4P Framework The C4P framework for this study includes: Content, Conversation, Contemplation, Cultural Context, and Purpose. The purpose of this course included introducing Chinese cultures as a complex concept and nurture critical thinking among students. To serve this purpose, the faculty had multiple considerations in course design: (1) Content Due to the students’ little prior knowledge of China, the basic goal of this course was to introduce the Chinese cultures. Explicit knowledge objects, such as readings and videos, served as content to provide an introductory phase of knowledge building. Giving students some basic knowledge to begin with would help them feel more comfortable and easier to transition to deeper learning. (2) Contemplation The deeper learning goal was to develop students’ critical thinking and reflective skills. To achieve this goal, students were given multiple opportunities to reflect. In the pre-discussion reflection, students were encouraged to reflect on their personal experience; the in-class reflection

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guided students to compare the guest speaker’s presentation with what they have read; the after-class reflection required students to compile multiple sources of information and compared with their home cultures to generate more in-depth insights. This cycle of reflection reflects the Contemplation element in the C4P framework. (3) Conversation built the bridge to connect Content and Contemplation. In addition to conversations in class (among students, between the faculty and the students), engaging guest speakers provided valuable contributions to the discussion. Sometimes the guest speakers’ view reinforced students’ understanding of the concepts; sometimes they provided alternative perspectives. Guest speakers’ examples added breadth to students’ source of knowledge, which in turn became a catalyst for more conversations and contemplation (Bandura, 1986; Eveleth & Baker-Eveleth, 2009). (4) Cultural Context was a critical factor to help students know how the guest speaker’s view and their own views were shaped. The faculty repeatedly reminded the students to consider the social and cultural power of perspective formation. Transformative learning identified that, openness to alternative views requires empathy of how others think and feel (Mezirow, 1997, 2000). To build this empathy, knowing where others are from would be helpful. Moreover, transnationalness was also reflected through the cultural context. Since technology advancement has allowed learning to flow beyond nation-state boundaries, cultural context expands beyond nations. By bringing individuals with transnational experiences and identities to converse with the diverse study body, the faculty aimed to construct a generative space where both guest speakers and students could share their transnational experiences and knowledge. Sanchez (2007) stressed that this approach would stimulate empathy towards different people and a desire to social change through more listening and understanding. In this particular class, a variety of technical tools were employed to allow guest speakers to share authentic cultural experiences not only with local communities but with transnational audiences. In this way, students were able to develop a greater awareness of cultural, social and historical contexts (Cope & Kalantzis, 2010). 4.4 Planning and Implementation of the Guest Speaker Series Integrating guest speakers in teaching requires a lot of thoughts and preparations. Numerous scholars have shared experiences and raised tips on the actual process. Sage (2013) offered an illustrative example and provided recommendations for involving guest speakers in a synchronous class setting.

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She addressed the importance of orienting the speakers, preparing the students, checking the technical issues, privacy protection, collecting feedback and other legal concerns. The current project utilized the following steps in the implementation: 1 Identifying guest speakers. It was important to consider the guest speakers’ connections to the learning goals and their representaiveness. 2 Reaching out to the guest speakers. Before the semester started, the faculty extended an invitation to the selected guest speaker with an explanation of the course and what knowledge that the guest speakers would be expected to contribute. This was done in advance to allow the guest speaker to consider, respond and follow-up. 3 Once the guest speaker accepted the invitation, about two weeks before the class time, the faculty had one to two follow-up meetings with the guest speaker to decide the talking points, shared students’ initial questions, length of presentation, format of presentation, and tested the computer connection. Most of the guest speakers for this course were residing all over the world including China, Latvia, Nepal and Sweden, so they used multiple online formats to communicate including Skype, Wechat and FaceTime (see Table 13.1). Time difference was also a key consideration and the faculty was thoughtful and respectful of the guest speaker’s time. 4 On the day of the guest speaker’s lecture, the faculty had the final equipment test around half an hour before the class. During the class, the faculty would recap what has been discussed, introduce the guest speaker and the guest speaker would have about 30 minutes of interactive presentation. Students were encouraged to ask questions during and after the guest speaker’s presentation. 5 Students were required to take notes during the speaker’s talk in order to ask questions and complete the worksheet. A customized worksheet was created for students to give feedback, raise suggestions and ask follow-up questions (see Table 13.2). With the guest speaker’s consent, the faculty would also share the contact information with the students so as to create an informal networking opportunity (Byrd et al., 1989).

5

Data Collection and Analysis

Data came from three sources: students’ mid-term and final reflective papers, interviews and responses on worksheets after each guest speaker. 104

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students submitted 150 reflective reports on the class. Questions were given in pre-class, in-class and after-class stages to stimulate reflection. The purpose of the questions were to engage students in the guest lecture process by taking notes and to elicit students’ deeper thinking. table 13.1  A list of guest speakers’ profijiles in the culture class

Topic

Guest speakers

History and religion

– Dr. Shi: a reputable scholar in Chinese history residing in Latvia to discuss his views on religious practice in China (Skype) – Hai: a Chinese professional with US study abroad background, working for an international NOG to discuss a community project in Tibet (Skype) – Dr. Zhu: sharing her experiences of living in an ethnically diverse region in China (FaceTime) – Chinese international students on campus: a panel discussion on their ethnic backgrounds and experiences (In-class) – Jamie: a 7th grade student in China to share her experience as an ordinary Chinese middle school student (Skype) – Angela: a middle school teacher in China to share her teaching pedagogy and students’ learning styles (WeChat) – Helena: a high school teacher in China to share the progression and globalization of Chinese education (WeChat) – Chinese international students on campus: a panel discussion on their learning experiences in China (In-class) – Jen: an American parent who adopted two Chinese daughters discussing her views on one-child policy in China and her engagement in overseas adoptees (Telephone) – Leon: a Chinese entrepreneur sharing his endeavors in voluntary work for underprivileged children (Skype) – Sammy: A 36-year old unmarried woman in China sharing her views on societal pressure on marriage (FaceTime) – Mike: a gay man in China sharing his views on gay right in China (FaceTime) – Alvin: a gay man in China sharing his liberating experiences in China (Skype) – Jack: a KFC local manager sharing his views on business globalization and the fast food industry in China (Skype)

Ethnicity

Education

Government and Society

Marriage

Globalization

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table 13.1  A list of guest speakers’ profijiles in the culture class (cont.)

Topic

Guest speakers

Foreigners in China

– Dan: HR director of a multiple national company sharing his experience in the professional culture in China (Skype) – Nate: an American entrepreneur sharing his views on alternative career plans in China (Skype) – Mark: an American student in China unfolding his learning experience in traditional Chinese medicine (Skype) – Kelvin: an experienced intercultural educator to discuss his views on the changes in Chinese culture over a decade (Skype)

table 13.2  Sample questions used in diffferent phases

Pre-discussion reflection

In-class reflection

After-class reflection

– After reading the materials and the guest speaker’s selfintroduction, list 3 questions for her. – Based on the readings, what are some strengths and weaknesses of Chinese education? – What can the American educators learn from the Chinese education? – How is Gaokao similar and different from the entrance examination in the United States? What was your experience like when you were applying for colleges? – Write down three things that you find thought provoking and/ or interesting. – For those who took Gaokao, did they have positive or negative experiences? Please explain. – How does the guest speaker view the term left-over women? – What motivates the guest speaker to devote himself in volunteering work? – In what way does the guest’s sharing related to your readings on this topic? – How is the guest speaker’s sharing similar and/or different from your own culture regarding language preservation? – How do these two guest speakers’ stories foster your understanding of same-sex marriage in Chinese society and culture? – What other questions do you still have regarding the topic or the speakers?

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Data analysis included coding, memo, categorizing and connecting strategies (Maxwell, 2005). Open coding was adapted (Strauss & Corbin, 1990); themes were drawn and verified by comparison of multiple sets of data (see Table 13.3). Connecting strategy was adopted to “look for relationships that connect statements and events within a context into a coherent whole” (Maxwell, 2005, p. 99). table 13.3  Data analysis-themes and codes

Theme

Defijinition

Subcategories/Codes

First-hand information in a specifijic fijield

Students reported that the guest speakers provided personal experiences that could not be found in textbooks. Students reported that the guest speakers offfered alternative views for them to understand the content better. Students reported that the guest speakers’ sharing allowed them to reflect on their own cultures and thus stimulated critical thinking.

Connecting theory with practice Career-specifijic information Informal networking opportunities Broaden horizon Thinking beyond boundaries

New and various perspectives

Critical thinking

6

Empathetic experience Relativity to students

Findings and Discussion

Except for one report that preferred the professor to use PowerPoint to give a lecture, 149 reports highly commended this interactive, constructive and effective pedagogy. As one student wrote, I enjoyed this class for many reasons, but a big reason is the many guest speakers that we had. I learned so much from seeing and listening to different people that have experienced China’s culture. By Skyping with guests we also learn about culture from them personally by watching their mannerisms and listening to their opinions as they talk about topics such as gay marriage in China, left-over women, and business in China. (Paper #18)

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This reflection was not isolated. Students have expressed how guest speakers’ sharing fostered their learning in various aspects, from displaying multiple perspectives to challenging them to problematize their stereotypes, from broadening their horizon to discovering their future career plans. The data analysis has led to three major themes (see Table 13.3). Theme one: Guest speakers provide first-hand information and personal experience that could not be found in textbooks. Students found it especially valuable to their understanding of the class discussion and they were exposed to other’s point of view. I would have to say the Skype calls helped me the most. We literally got a first-hand perspective into peoples lives that experience Chinese culture on a daily basis. I don’t think it can get better than that and I have never had a class do anything like that before. (Paper #12) Another great thing about this class was how the professor had all of the guest speakers. It was awesome to be able to hear their stories first hand. They helped show the real side of China, not what the media wants us to see. (Paper #13) For me, the best part about this class was all of the guest speakers we were able to Skype with. It was absolutely incredible to be able to hear about all of the different aspects of culture from people from the other side of the world. I was able to hear about many parts of a culture that make it what it is by people who experience a culture and society that is much different than my own. (Paper #37) When the guest speakers with substantial experiences in the target culture, China in this case, students found the sharing more authentic and more engaging. Students reported that interactive process brings stories back to life. As one student stated, “When you actually get to converse with someone from the locations and ask any question you have been most curious about, that way of learning is better than those who have hard times reading text” (Paper #3). In particular, students cited the topic of Chinese holidays as an example to express how much they valued the opportunity to interact with the guest speakers. The professor invited 10 Chinese international students in class to form four different workstations: food, decoration, greetings and information center. Chinese students at each station engaged the participants in multiple hands-on activities, such as making dumplings at the food station, writing calligraphy at the decoration station, practicing to give and receive lucky money at the greetings station and interviewing at the interaction center. These four stations also reflected the three essential aspects of culture: product, practice and perspectives (NSFLEP, 2006). Food and decoration stations

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provided an introductory level knowledge to students about the products related to Chinese New Year; the greetings station engaged the students to actually practice what is done and how it is done; and the information center was an opportunity for students to ask critical questions to gain in-depth understanding of the underlined perspectives of Chinese holidays. One student wrote, “when the Chinese club/students came with the Chinese New Year Festival and had interactive stations was the most important thing during the class because I was able to interact with different aspects of the Chinese culture” (paper #23). This supports previous research results that guest speakers not only provide expertise in specific content areas, but also use their experience and communication styles to enhance students’ engagement (Hemphill & Hemphill, 2007; Murray, 1988). Another example was the topic Foreigners in China. Considering that the students were from various majors, the professor reached out to four Americans who either worked in China for extensive years or are currently living in China. They represented four career paths in China: Dan is an HR director for Pan-Asia for a US-based company and has lived in China since 1999; Kelvin worked as an English professor and non-profit manager in China for nine years, but now has returned to the US and continues his career in international education; Nate stayed in China for only two years but aspired to learn fluent Chinese and now is a film director and writer; Mark changed his career plan from a math teacher in Midwest US to a PhD student in traditional Chinese medicine in China. These four Americans shared their career trajectory and complex feelings of being in Chinese contexts, including social and professional environments. Talking to Americans that have studied, taught, or even work in China was very beneficial to me. Since I am a business major it was interesting to hear about some of the global business aspects when learning about China. (Paper #15) Having speakers was very helpful because as a class we were able to connect with people that are either Chinese or directly associated with China such as foreigners or people who work in China. Seeing these different perspectives, I think I was able to relate to the course material and improve my intercultural competence much better than versus other classes that just read off of PowerPoint slides. (Paper #13) As these students stated, having people from a similar background share their first-hand experience, especially those who have been far ahead down the career path, offered them hope, tips and career-specific insights. When Riebe et al. (2013) studied the impact of industry guest speakers on business students’ perceptions of employability skills development, they concluded that “an

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appropriately briefed, qualified, interesting and engaging guest speaker plays an important role in active learning by exposing students to the ‘real world’ of the workplace and can reinforce the significance of key employability skills for future career success” (p. 55). This was seen in students’ reports, This week’s guest speakers really stood out to me, particularly Dan (pseudonym), because I was majoring in business and I was able to relate what he was talking about to my education. For example, he explained what they look for in their employees/potential employees for their company. It opened up my eyes to see what I could possibly be doing after college and gave me more insights on international business. (Paper #151) Guest speakers like these, especially with two completely different aspects help to greatly increase my understanding of different things. I have insight on the business side of China and the medical side, along with knowing the differences between cultural ideas, and being a foreigner living in China, a business worker vs. a med student, while both mention the lack of Minnesota Nice and how different things are, but people are still really nice once you get to know them. (Paper #152) This feedback showed that the guest speakers enriched students’ education by sharing first-hand knowledge about the work environment and career-specific insights that the professor or the textbooks may not be able to offer. In this section, students were particularly engaged by raising a lot of questions. The guest speakers were all generous in sharing their contacts, which provided an opportunity for informal networking (Byrd et al., 1989). Theme two: Guest speakers offer alternative views to foster deeper understanding of the content by connecting the theories with practice, broadening their horizons and pushing them to think beyond boundaries. Leor (2015) argued that having a guest speaker would offer “new perspectives and variety in the way it is taught, while it provides important specific subjects that are often omitted from a regular class. That in turn brings a better learning experience to the students, the teacher and even the guest speaker” (p. 21). In other words, when a professor is not so proficient in a certain subject, a guest speaker would be a valuable addition to help students achieve their learning goals. One example is the discussion on education, especially Gaokao system, the Chinese college entrance exam infamous for its competitiveness and stress. The professor had two guest speakers’ section: the first one with two in-service teachers and one middle school student in China to Skype in during the class. They shared what Gaokao meant to them from teachers’ and students’ standpoints. The middle school student Jamie talked about her workload and

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the concept of Gaokao as a seed for hard work. Two teachers shared their view on the change and globalization of Chinese education. Then in the second class, the professor invited five international students from China on campus to have a panel discussion with the students in the class. That was a powerful moment to see both the international students and class participants to rigorously exchange ideas and comparing both educational cultures. One student wrote, When we discuss about the education topic, the guest speakers are teacher and student, this “opposition” give me more perspectives about this topic. Through the guest speaking, we can know that students are stressful under the Gaokao, but as teachers, what they face also is the stressful environment. (Paper #1) Gaokao system in China has been perceived in a predominantly negative way by westerners and in western media; by having both students and teachers to share their views on the system, the audience could develop a more holistic picture of the situation and therefore make their own judgment. One of the most well received class topics was Marriage in China. Besides introducing rituals and customs in China, the class also discussed societal pressure on marriage and gay rights. Audience had little knowledge about Chinese marriage, not to mention gay right in China. When learning the term left-over women which refers to women over 27 unmarried, and comrades which refers to gay men, students showed great interests and curiosity. The professor invited three guest speakers: one 36-year-old unmarried Chinese woman to discuss her experience and view on societal pressure on women, and two gay men to discuss their differing experiences in China. What was more fascinating was that the two gay men in China had totally different experiences, one out of the closet and having a happy life with his partner, while the other feeling oppressed by the societal and familial pressure, both of which complicated students’ understanding of this topic. Below are a few excerpts from the reflective papers: One of the most important parts to this class that helped me get an insider’s perspective on Chinese culture were the guest speakers that we were privileged enough to hear over the course of the semester. Everything from business ethics, to left behind women, to same sex marriage were all things that I had not known about previously. The guest speakers on these topics helped me to gain further understanding of how society acts in China in regards to these topics. I never knew that gay marriage was

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so heavily disregarded as evil in China by many parents of gay people. Hearing first hand from people like Alvin was helpful because he had to work hard to convince his parents that he was in love with another man. He came out as being gay on the China social media site. He took his boyfriend to his hometown to meet his parents who are beginning to accept the fact that he is gay. He has plans to adopt a child or take a surrogate baby with his boyfriend. He said that he wants to move to Australia to live with his boyfriend. He said that his friends all supported him in coming out as gay. They are planning on getting married next January. People like Alvin were very helpful in hearing personal accounts of their experiences on certain issues in China. (Paper #8) What truly helped me the most was when we would Skype with guest speakers from all around. It is one thing to sit and listen to a lecture for an hour, but to hear first-hand experience from someone who went through a certain situation was awesome. From hearing from a leftover woman to talking to a gay man, I thought it was super special how open these different individuals were with talking about their life. It may not have been easy for them, but I think they would be happy to know how much they taught me. (Paper #39) Leor (2015) believed that “students have a chance to learn about said specific topic in a way that helps them get fully involved in the class and actively engage in a more approachable way of teaching. A student tends to be more interested in participating in class when there is a topic he or she would like to know more about” (p. 21). The interaction with the guest speakers was constantly mentioned in students’ reflective reports to commend its usefulness of broadening their horizon and increasing their knowledge. Theme three: Guest speakers’ experiences are relatable to the students and stimulate critical thinking. To foster transformative learning, Mezirow (1997) said, “the more interpretations of a belief available, the greater the likelihood of finding a more dependable interpretation or synthesis” (p. 6). As evidenced above, one major purpose of inviting guest speakers was to display multiple interpretations to the students. For instance, Sammy talking about being a left-over woman in China, Mike and Alvin talking about being a gay man in China, multiple American’s alternative career paths in China, all of which contributed to the multifaceted life experiences in China. Students found these guest speakers dynamic, genuine and engaging. More importantly, students could relate to their life in one way or another, which fostered them to think deeper on self.

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This class has greatly helped me reflect on my own culture. It is hard not to relate things you learn from the Chinese culture to your own. Many of the things we learned can easily be contrast with our own daily lives. From education to simple marriages, many aspects of Chinese living are close to that of our own. Going to class and participating has greatly improved my knowledge of Chinese culture. Since we had so many speakers I was able to relate to them and relate their lives to my own. Although this is not the first time I have learned about China, this is the most in depth I have ever learned about it. (Paper #6) Some of the topics that I found very interesting and that really stuck in my head were the topics of marriage in China and the Education in China. Throughout the whole class we were comparing Chinese culture to the culture here in the United States. Not only did I learn a ton about Chinese culture I got to take a good look at the culture here in the United States, and notice the many flaws…I definitely enjoyed this class. It was very different than other classes that I have taken. (Paper #44) Findings from students’ feedback lent support to Eveleth and Baker-Eveleth’s study (2009), where students were amazed to realize “the guest had experienced similar transformations as she was experiencing” (p. 420). As Hemphill and Hemphill (2007) stated, students’ critical thinking could be enhanced through high levels of interaction with the guest speakers. In this study, students’ questions and comments through interacting with the guest speakers showed the deepening understanding and thinking.

7

Conclusion

Adapted from Hoadley and Kilner’s (2005) C4P framework, this culture course emphasized content, conversation, contemplation and cultural context to serve the purpose of intercultural learning. The professor utilized readings from books, journal articles, media reports and documentary films as content, integrated international guest speakers to share authentic experiences to start a conversation with the students, elicited students’ contemplation by asking questions and writing reflective reports, emphasizing the importance of cultural context in shaping individual views, so as to achieve the purpose of displaying multiple perspectives and encourage critical thinking. During three semesters, over 20 guest speakers were invited to speak at the class, either through in-person communication or synchronous virtual meeting. This pedagogy has received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Findings showed that guest speakers provided first-hand information and expertise in

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a specific field, offered a variety of perspectives and fostered critical thinking. According to the transformative learning perspectives (Mezirow, 2000, pp. 13–14), “openness to alternative points of views”, “greater awareness of the context of ideas and, more critically, reflectiveness of assumptions, including their own”, and “willingness to seek understanding and agreement” were important indicators of perspective transformation. This pedagogy has proved that, if well structured with a clear purpose, guest speakers are invaluable assets to culture classes.

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Leor, K. (2015). Guest speakers: A great way to commit to education. Journal on Best Teaching Practices, 2(2), 21–23. Maxwell, J. A. (2005). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. McCleary, K. W., & Weaver, P. A. (2009). The effective use of guest speakers in the hospitality and tourism curriculum. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 8(4), 401–414. McRee, A.-L., Madsen, N., & Eisenberg, M. E. (2014). Guest speakers in school-based sexuality education. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 9(2), 205–218. Metrejean, C., Pittman, J., & Zarzeski, M. T. (2002). Guest speakers: Reflections on the role of accountants in the classroom. Accounting Education, 11(4), 347–364. Mezirow, J. (1997). Transformative learning: Theory to practice. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, 1997(74), 5–12. Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning to think like an adult. In J. Mezirow & Associates (Eds.), Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (pp. 3–33). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Murray, D. E. (1988). Computer-mediated communication: Implications for ESP. English for Specific Purposes, 7(1), 3–18. Ostorga, A. N., & Farruggio, P. (2013). The use of a virtual guest speaker as a catalyst for deep learning. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 93, 2144–2151. Payne, B. K., Sumter, M., & Sun, I. (2003). Bringing the field into the criminal justice classroom: Field trips, ride-alongs, and guest speakers. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 14(2), 327–344. Riebe, L., Sibson, R., Roepen, D., & Meakins, K. (2013). Impact of industry guest speakers on business students’ perceptions of employability skills development. Industry and Higher Education, 27(1), 55–66. Sage, M. (2013). Distance guest speakers in online synchronous classrooms: Practical and legal considerations. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 33(4–5), 385–392. Sanchez, P. (2007). Urban immigrant students: How transnationalism shapes their world learning. The Urban Review, 39(5), 489–517. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research (Vol. 15). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Wenger, E. (2011). Communities of practice: A brief introduction. Retrieved from November 20, 2016, from https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/ handle/1794/11736/A%20brief%20introduction%20to%20CoP.pdf?sequence% E2%80%B0=%E2%80%B01 Wortmann, G. B. (1992). An invitation to learning. Science Teacher, 59(2), 19–22.

Kaishan Kong University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, USA

chapter 14

Using Technology to Provide Higher Education for Refugees Natasha Boškić, Thomas J. Sork, Rita Irwin, Samson Nashon, Cynthia Nicol, Karen Meyer and Sharon Hu

1

Introduction

This chapter reports on the experiences of The University of British Columbia (UBC) as a partner in the delivery of a secondary teacher education program in Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya. We focus on the use of technology in program delivery, but also explain how the unique context of Dadaab influenced decisions about how various technologies were used in program delivery. We believe it is important to share the lessons learned in this project with others who may be considering working in any of the growing number of refugee/ displaced persons contexts around the world so they may benefit from our experience. The program described herein is part of a multi-institutional partnership administered by York University in Toronto, Canada, operating under the name “Borderless Higher Education for Refugees” (BHER). The partnership includes, in addition to York and UBC, Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya, Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, Windle Trust Kenya and World University Service of Canada. Funding for the project comes primarily from what is now Global Affairs Canada. The program was designed primarily for practicing secondary school teachers, few of whom had any formal teacher training. The credential to be offered to students completing the program is a diploma awarded by our partner, Moi University. Moi and UBC are each responsible for delivering half the courses required for the credential. University programs in Kenya are primarily exam-based, meaning that students receive partial credit for their performance during classes, but the bulk of their course grades are based on exams which are often held several months after courses are completed. This was one of several significant differences between practices at Moi and UBC that our instructors had to take into account when planning instruction. More will be said below about the evolution of our relationship with Moi. © koninklijke brill nv, leideN, 2018 | DOI 10.1163/9789004366077_014

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The Role of Technology in Education for Refugees

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR, 2016) there are currently more than 65 million people globally who have been forcefully displaced from their homes. They live either as refugees or, in their own country, as internally displaced persons. The priority of aid programs in the past was to ensure the children of refugees continue their education and acquire at least basic literacy skills. As much as that is important, it has become evident that that is not enough to address the needs of the displaced. It takes years for youngsters to enter the workplace and begin contributing to the economies of the countries to which they migrate. On the other hand, those who are capable of working and hope to pursue – or are in the process of obtaining – a professional or trade qualification are usually precluded from pursuing this goal. They are often left with no opportunities to continue their education, and are unlikely to get well-paid jobs and begin providing for their families. As stated in another report from the UNHCR (2014), “…the need for higher education for refugees is increasing exponentially with the global increase in displacement and a higher number of refugees completing secondary education.” Technology is seen as an enabler of diverse learning opportunities and as a connector between those who need education and those who provide it. Although technology may reduce barriers, it can also create them. The differences in technological infrastructure around the globe are only one side of the coin. This side can be relatively easy to address – assuming that there is funding for it – by opening computer labs, improving Internet connectivity, and so on. The other side of the coin is much more complex and less “easy to fix.” It relates to digital literacies. Definitions of digital literacies are numerous, but the most current ones take into consideration not only the ability to use a tool, but the skill to use it within a sociocultural practice (Goodfellow, 2011). This line of thought connects back to the concept of situated cognition, theorized by Hutchins (1995) and Lave and Wenger (1991). McIntyre (2014) argues that the notion of “digital divides” distinguishes between those who can and those who cannot function in a digital environment. Even in developing countries with fewer laptops per capita, digital literacy skills are not necessarily less developed. The use of mobile technologies can, for example, be far more advanced than in developed countries due to the lack of other options and the need to be creative. Ito et al.’s (2012) “connected learning” approach argues for more comprehensive and heuristic knowledge building that is not limited to formal education. It includes learning that happens in informal settings within the social context, which is very evident among learners in the refugee camp in

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which this teacher education project was conducted. Community leaders emerge over time and, as in our project, those who were part of the program take on the role of providing information and sharing instruction. This approach enables us to see learning as culturally defined, embedded into practice and framed by social relationships. The three contexts of learning identified by Ito et al. (2012) – peer-supported, interest-powered and academically oriented – play a crucial role in delivering this program. Learners see education as their only (or almost only) way to leave the camp and go back to a “normal” life, so they are highly motivated to acquire skills and knowledge that can better their lives. They are well aware that obtaining recognized credentials opens opportunities for employment. The only way to make “education work” in an environment with scarce resources is to rely on each other and the collective. According to a survey completed at the start of the program in three of the five camps at Dadaab, out of 89 respondents, 69 (77%) had mobile phones, 27 (30%) smartphones, and 19 (21%) had laptop or notebook computers. The ubiquitous presence and use of mobile devices among the students in this program could lead to the assumption that they are well-connected and adept at using this form of technology. However, based on a recent study in Kenyan refugee camps by Dahya and Dryden-Peterson (2016), there are significant gender differences in how this technology is used and in the opportunities available to men and women for engaging in educational programs. Because one of the goals of the larger BHER project was to promote greater gender equity in Dadaab, we had to be sensitive to all the implications – and possible unintended consequences – of our technology decisions.

3

The Broader Context

3.1 Dadaab Refugee Camp Before getting into more details of this project, it is important to provide some additional information about the context. Dadaab was established in 1991 and is located in a semi-arid region of eastern Kenya approximately 90 km (56 miles) from the Somali border. It is a complex of five camps housing (as of 31 August 2016) about 277,000 refugees. Of these, 95% are Somalis, 4.4% are Ethiopian and the remainder from other countries in the region. This number is down from a total of nearly 500,000 in 2011 during the height of the inflow from Somalia. About 37% of the camp population is children between the ages of 5–18. As of November, 2016, the Government of Kenya was actively working to close all the camps by May, 2017. The government faced increasing pressure to close the camps in the aftermath of major terrorist attacks on Nairobi’s

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Westgate Shopping Mall in September, 2013 and Garissa University College in April, 2015. Those currently in the camps who chose to do so can be repatriated to Somalia or relocated to other camps in Kenya. Although some students have completed the program described in this chapter, another currently-enrolled cohort still has an extended/summative practicum and additional coursework to complete. The repatriation/relocation process promises to seriously challenge the participating universities to help students complete program requirements – and technology will no doubt play a very important role. 3.2 Principled Engagement through Networking The University of British Columbia aspires to be a “globally-influential” university. This aspiration set the stage for our decision to respond to a request received by our then-President to assist in the professional development of teachers in Dadaab’s secondary schools. We recognized that no university becomes “globally influential” without engaging in challenging projects in parts of the world that they may know little about. Our involvement in Dadaab began in 2008 prior to the large influx of Somali refugees escaping civil strife and drought and before the major terrorist attacks – claimed by Al-Shabaab – in Kenya. One of the co-authors of this chapter is from Kenya and we have had several Kenyan students graduate from our faculty and return to Kenya. These colleagues were very important members of our planning group, helped us gain perspective on the benefits and risks of becoming involved, and in developing a strong working relationship with colleagues at Moi University, our university partner in the design and delivery of the program. The role of networks and the importance of various human and non-human actors – including technology – in the success of international collaborations have been highlighted elsewhere (e.g., Boud, Dahlgren, Abrant-Dahlgren, Larson, Sork, & Walters, 2006). In relating the details of complex collaborations it is easy to forget the key role played by human relationships and the bonds of trust and respect that are necessary to persist in the pursuit of an innovative and noble idea under challenging circumstances. During the time this program was being planned, the Association of Canadian Deans of Education was developing what became known as the Accord on the Internationalization of Education (ACDE, 2014). This document captures many of the principles that we support in making decisions about international engagement, but also provides a useful summary of the risks involved in such engagement. Of particular note in relation to the Dadaab project are two risks:

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Risk of personal and social disruption. The disruption or marginalization of individual identities and cultural practices, or indeed broader social disruption, may be the unintended consequences of widespread internationalization activities. Activities that aim to intervene in or build knowledge about communities without a deep critical analysis of the economic, social, cultural, and political factors that frame the positions of helpers, visitors, and researchers vis-à-vis the recipients of the activities are particularly problematic. (p. 6) The risk of (neo)colonization. The attempt to export educational practices and norms may have an impact similar to enforced social and economic colonization: the subjugation of one group to the power and control of another, and the elevation of a predominantly imported mode of thinking above all other forms of knowing. (p. 6) Although neither of these risks had been fully articulated at the time we were deciding whether or not to engage in this project, the concerns they raise were clearly part of our deliberations. They are mentioned here because we have had to be mindful of these risks throughout this work and weigh many of our decisions based on these principles. We entered into this partnership with limited understanding of the circumstances confronting prospective students, of the norms and traditions of our Kenyan partner institutions, of the political tensions within Kenya that would continually buffet the project, of the cultural and spiritual practices of Somali Muslims, or of the potentially disruptive influence of our presence and program on the lives of our students. We have had to be “quick studies” as the project progressed and constantly adapt to challenges as they arose. We expected that our engagement in this project would be a wonderful learning opportunity for everyone involved and it has certainly lived up to that expectation as the remainder of the story will demonstrate.

4

History of the Project

Answering a call made by Marangu Njogu, the Executive Director of Windle Trust Kenya to World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and University of British Columbia President Stephen Toope, the Faculty of Education at UBC considered offering a teacher education program in the Dadaab refugee camp. Recognizing our strong linkages with Kenya through UBC Professor Samson Nashon, a Kenyan national, and our ongoing professional partnerships with faculty members at Moi University, a small group of faculty from both

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universities visited Dadaab in 2008 to consider possibilities. It was then that our universities imagined offering a two-year Moi University Secondary Teacher Education Diploma Program delivered jointly by Moi and UBC. Thus began the work of co-designing a program specifically for Dadaab refugees and their host communities. Between 2009 and 2012, a joint program with unique courses was designed and approved by Senate committees in preparation for the launch of the program in 2013. Simultaneously to UBC and Moi taking up this call for teacher education in Dadaab, York University was studying the feasibility of designing and delivering a two-year program for primary teachers in Dadaab in partnership with Kenyatta University. Learning of each other’s intentions, we joined forces to submit proposals to what was then called the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), later renamed the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development and more recently, Global Affairs Canada, through our two Canadian universities. After independent competitive internal and external processes, a York University driven proposal was approved under the name “Borderless Higher Education for Refugees” (BHER). The BHER proposal included both two-year teacher education programs yet went further by offering a transition year between high school and first year university as well as several three- or four-year degree granting programs in Education, Health Care and Geography. The BHER Consortium (see BHER, 2012) represents a network of academic and non-governmental organizations desiring to share available educational assets where they are needed most by creating and delivering online/onsite courses and programs that meet international standards. Ideally, these programs are transferable within unique yet similar circumstances among refugee camps and other marginalized or remote communities hosting refugees. The ultimate goal of the BHER Consortium is to offer refugee children and youth an improved quality of education that underscores peace building and socially inclusive communities within their host countries while increasing the likelihood of successful repatriation to their home countries. In order to achieve this goal, the BHER consortium places great emphasis on: (a) improving the equitable delivery of educational opportunities to male and female refugees and their local host communities; (b) creating a variety of programs (certificates, diplomas and degrees) that enhance the employability of young men and women, and (c) building capacity among academic consortium members for offering programs to refugee and marginalized populations. The BHER Consortium has worked hard to embed several important features in the programs offered within and across the consortium. These include:

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1 Stackability: Following the principle of 30-credit certificates laddering into 60-credit diplomas with further laddering opportunities into 90 or 120 credit degrees, allows students tremendous potential for extending their professional development. 2 No tuition charged to refugee students: The BHER-related programs do not charge tuition with external funding covering the cost of instruction and administration. 3 Blended use of educational technologies: Onsite and online courses include various forms of educational technologies with increasing reliance on distance learning. 4 Reciprocity of credit recognition: Through formal agreements, partner universities agree to recognize and award credits for courses offered by BHER partners. 5 Portability: Should alumni relocate to other jurisdictions or their home countries, they should be able to use the credits they have earned toward further educational opportunities. While these features figure prominently across all BHER-related programs, there are unique attributes that deserve recognition in this chapter. The MoiUBC partnership led to a jointly-delivered Moi Diploma in Secondary Teacher Education. Regular and annual BHER consortium meetings enhanced the design and implementation of this program yet the actual program offered to students (2014–2017) is uniquely based on our commitment to courses on peace education, special education in marginalized communities and Islamic studies, among others, and practicum experiences designed to create sustainable professional development of teachers. This required the design and development of unique courses not currently offered at our respective universities. Designed specifically for Dadaab, they attempted to address the particulars of the geographical region, refugee and host cultures and their concerns as vulnerable communities. This stretched our academic communities in demanding yet very positive ways. Moreover, recognizing the likelihood of limited funding for the continuation of the BHER programs encouraged us to reimagine the practicum learning experiences of our students, many of whom are incentive teachers in the camps. The only credential needed for incentive teachers has been the completion of high school. We designed two practicum experiences loosely conceived as formative and summative in nature. The formative practicum encouraged students and teachers to meet regularly to discuss their teaching practices with the hope of creating sustainable learning communities within and among schools. This placed tremendous value on local knowledge and, as a result, served to

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reach beyond the program to involve the teaching staff at each school. It also recognized the early teaching experiences of the incentive teachers. Moreover, the nearly spontaneous use of WhatsApp, an application for mobile phones, enabled all those involved in the practicum to share ideas quickly and positively across time and space. When the students started their summative practicum, they were not only well prepared, they were integrated within a learning community of educators continually rethinking their teaching practices. This unintended yet welcome outcome has already yielded tremendous benefits for student teachers and teachers alike and will go a long way to sustaining the community if the BHER consortium is unable to continue offering its programs. Over two-dozen instructors have been involved in offering the Moi/UBC program. While each has shared his or her expertise, we are certain they would be the first to say they, too, have grown immeasurably from their experiences in offering the program. The insights gained about refugee and host community needs, experiences and potentials will undoubtedly influence future course and program development at our universities, beyond the programs offered in Dadaab. Our BHER partners at York, Moi and Kenyatta universities, as well as Windle Trust Kenya and WUSC, would undoubtedly have equally compelling experiences to share.

5

Stories of Teaching in Dadaab

Two of the co-authors travelled to Dadaab camps in February 2012 to conduct workshops with its secondary teachers. Six months earlier, they visited Dadaab camps as members of an eight person-team – seven from the UBC Faculty of Education and one from Moi University. As future curriculum designers for courses within the Moi/UBC diploma program, they wished to understand the camp environment, the existing curriculum, and the issues and challenges of teaching and learning in the camps. This team met with students, teachers, administrators, parents, community members and NGOs who shared their insights. The team met parents dedicated to their children’s education. Parents shared the fact that they traded food rations to support building a new community school. They spoke to students with high aspirations, who, when asked about their dreams, said they wanted to be doctors or pilots. They met passionate teachers committed to teaching even with few opportunities for higher education or professional development. Their second visit involved different goals. There were now three members – two from UBC and another colleague from Moi University. This group hoped to have an extended experience in classrooms, to begin building trust with

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refugee education stakeholders, and, most importantly, to further constructive relationships with the refugee teachers, administrators, and Windle Trust Kenya in this time before the programme commenced. Unfortunately due to extreme security measures they were not able to visit schools within the camps. For their workshops, the teachers met them outside the camps within secure UNHCR facilities. While the instructors arrived with a planned, half-day workshop for a dozen teachers, their hosts told them – on the way to the location – that all teachers wished to attend; teachers from each camp expected a two-day experience. They quickly shifted their plans in the van, looking up occasionally out the windows at the desert landscape, the Dadaab marketplace, all so different from home. They began the first workshop with introductions. As part of their new plan, they then asked the teachers to organize themselves in small groups and dialogue around the question: “What is a metaphor that describes teaching for you? Teaching is like…” (One teacher reminded them that perhaps they were asking for a simile!) Creating metaphors and dialoging about teaching continued for the remaining camp workshops as well. Over a period of six days, they engaged the teachers in professional development workshops from each of three camps: Hagadera, Daghaley, and Ifo. Seventy-six teachers attended the twoday workshops. Some were experienced teachers, many were not. Without opportunities for higher education they teach themselves methods and mentor each other on what to teach along with strategies on how to teach. During the workshops teachers spoke of the challenges they face in classrooms throughout Dadaab camps – challenges that require creative and innovative responses. Few educational resources for students meant sharing materials, pencils, paper and textbooks. No electricity in classrooms and homes meant searching elsewhere for electricity for charging mobile phones and providing light for late night studies. Limited opportunities for teacher professional development meant relying on colleagues for support and advice. Few teaching materials meant emphasizing oral teaching strategies along with structured chalkboard writing so all students could have access to the curriculum. As workshop leaders in Dadaab, they, too, experienced some aspects of these challenges. Their reliance on visual materials – either PowerPoint presentations or photocopy printouts – challenged their pedagogical resourcefulness. Their workshop agendas, teaching notes, and information they intended to share on the status of the teacher education diploma program sat trapped on their laptops. By the afternoon of the second day, they asked if it was possible to access electricity. They moved to another classroom with an electrical socket powered

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by solar panels located on the classroom roof. While there was plenty of sunshine, the issue became enabling the socket to work. By the third day, they moved to a different NGO compound where the sockets provided the electricity they needed. Using construction paper taped to the walls as their chalkboard and a data projector to share information on the program, they completed the remaining two workshops for teachers in Daghaley and Hagadera camps. Through the workshops, they found that teachers’ relationships with each other as colleagues and community members enabled the formation of a teaching community capable of responding to and inquiring into each other’s teaching practices with respect and humor. And they did so with relatively limited access to technology. Although many teachers used mobile (but not smart) phones during this workshop series, they did so mainly to keep connected with family or to conduct business rather than for teaching. Yet, teachers were keen to learn how to improve teaching beyond what they learned from mentoring and experience, and remained open to new ideas and strategies. Although teachers were eager to begin the teacher education program at this time, it was another two years before these UBC faculty returned as instructors with the program approved by both UBC and Moi. As instructors in 2014, they offered two courses in Dadaab at the BHER Learning Centre: Principles of Teaching and Curriculum and Instruction in Mathematics Education. Before arriving, they understood that the use and role of technology in the camps had improved since their visit two years earlier. Internet access had improved, and the BHER Learning Centre included two new computer labs. They designed elements of their courses to be online so that teachers who were unable to travel to the Learning Centre could access course materials. Course contact hours were partly covered with assignments given before these instructors arrived in Dadaab with the expectation that students would email completed pre-course assignments to them before they arrived. They emailed course outlines and assignments to students and uploaded these to UBC’s learning management system, Blackboard “Connect.” Although teachers had access to the computer lab, and all had the opportunity to learn basic technology skills through a prior pre-program course, the instructors received few pre-course assignments either uploaded to the course website or by email. It was difficult to understand why this was the case until the instructors arrived in Dadaab. The teachers were very excited to learn through technology. However, they came to the class with varying levels of experience working with technology. Some teachers’ schools had internet connectivity; some did not. Some teachers could access computers in their camp’s market area; others could not. Nonetheless, when one assignment asked students to work in small groups

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and submit a collective write-up, students responded in innovative ways. The person with the best keyboarding skills took leadership of the keyboard while others, sitting around the computer, offered ideas or directed discussion. Once the assignment was emailed to the instructors, they heard students remark “Now we feel like true university students. We’ve created an assignment and emailed it to the instructor!” The instructors also invited students to participate in a digital storytelling response to the question: What does it mean to teach and learn in Dadaab? Students discussed the question in small groups. They were given a digital camera, iPad or iPod to film their group’s response. That evening, the instructors collated the responses into short digital movies. Playing back the movies stimulated discussion and reflection. Students witnessed themselves as teachers, communicators, and educational technology innovators. During these courses, many challenges required high degrees of flexibility and improvisation. The Learning Centre photocopier under repair meant no printed handouts or course outlines as expected. Some of the course materials were accessible online, but required students to access the course website. Some problems were technical in nature and could be solved with the assistance of the on-site technician. Others were cultural and required innovative solutions. For example, access to the course website requires a UBC campus-wide login (CWL) user-name and password. Students had created CWL accounts during a previous UBC course but many could not login to the system. With few opportunities to use their CWL accounts, the students could not recall either their user names or passwords. This challenge required creating new accounts that involved a sign-up process using a UBC student number, first and last names, and birthdate to confirm identity. Entering such information sounds straightforward to us here in Canada, but not all cultures celebrate birthdays, and for displaced persons, records of birthdates are often left in the home country. Thus, not all students knew or could recall the birthdate they had given when initially registering for their CWL, while many students used January 1 as their designated birthdate. In addition, many students shared the same first and last names making it necessary to refer to students using their three names rather than only two. Sometimes students changed the order of their names to distinguish themselves from others with similar names. Thus, a first and last name could vary. Finally, setting up an account password required creating responses to multiple security questions such as: What was the colour of your first car? What is your favourite video game? or Where did you go on your first vacation? Such questions represented a particular social-cultural context outside the life experiences of students in Dadaab. This caused multiple issues for students

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seeking to verify their student identity while re-applying for their CWL accounts. In the end, deflated and frustrated, many students simply could not access the course websites or resources. The use of technology for teaching and learning in Dadaab during this visit was challenging. Nonetheless, teaching without reliance on technology positioned both instructors and students as problem solvers exploring the potential of educational technology in this challenging context. Without technology, the instructors drew more on oral teaching strategies, like those used by the students. Face-to-face conversations, small group dialogue, and shared work on the improvised chalkboard permitted a close listening to the students, a listening perhaps not possible through an online environment. In the end, the instructors taught with a mix of strategies. As the students used email to send assignments, computers to type-up assignments, and iPads to create digital stories, they experienced the possibilities of technology. Although some relatively sophisticated technology was available to teachers in the Learning Centre, these instructors wondered about its relationship with camp culture and the extent to which technology could be integrated into teaching practices. Certainly, teachers could learn about teaching using technology in the computer labs, but with very few computers in camp schools, what opportunities would they have to extend this learning to their own students? They grappled with balancing desires for teachers to have opportunities to learn with technology and the potential challenges of creating and sustaining such learning conditions. The teachers do, however, have access to and are very adept at using mobile phones to access and share information, as well as to make and receive payments (without banks). While access to the internet is difficult, access to mobile phones is not. With this in mind, these instructors are currently pursuing pedagogical possibilities of using mobile phones and the use of WhatsApp for sharing information and course organization, as well as for engaging students in dialogue and problem solving. This platform is familiar to people in the camps who have found their own ways of engaging this technology. Within a short period of time, these instructors witnessed large changes regarding the access and use of technology within the Dadaab camps. As such change continues, they believe the use of mobile phone education is an organic and promising approach to teaching and learning in the camps.

6

Straining the Boundaries of ‘Flexible Learning’

A decade or two ago, providing higher education to students in Dadaab would have been impossible without creating a “mini-campus” in Africa and

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moving the faculty members to that location. Today, due to the flexibility of technology-mediated learning, the first cohort of elementary and secondary Dadaab teachers celebrated the completion of their programs in August 2016. Use of information technology enabled learning in an often insecure, environmentally challenging context, not bound by geographical limitations. Blended learning designs of course offerings underwent a number of modifications and adaptations. The challenges were diverse and manifold, from digital infrastructure on the site, through access to devices and applications, to highly variable computer literacy skills. The project started with basic research on the conditions unknown to most of the members involved in it. Temperatures in these regions (eastern Kenya and Somalia) range from 30–40 degrees Celsius with frequent dust storms. The approved funding allowed for the building of the Learning Centre. Due to security concerns, it had to be located on property on which Kenyatta University was constructing its own Dadaab campus, far away from the five camps that constituted Dadaab. The design of the Centre included two computer labs with internet connectivity and three classrooms. The average size of each class was 60–80 students. Donated new desktop computers with LCD monitors were installed along with a server, digital cameras and LCD data projectors. The Centre needed glass windows to protect equipment from dust and air conditioners to deal with the heat…both of which were rare in Dadaab. What we imagined as project instructional spaces from our comfortable location in Canada was far from what was available on the ground. Smooth operation of the Learning Centre without power cuts or connectivity issues had been a daily challenge. To reset the router, for example, someone needed to enter protected space where the telecom tower was located. The majority of the students had rarely used computers. The “jumpstart program” had to be in place to help students develop computer literacy skills as well as strengthen their academic English. There was little time for students to study deeply in either of those areas so they started the program with a variety of understandings about what online or blended learning meant. The natural inclination in North America for delivering such a program would be to rely on UBC’s standard learning management system, BlackBoard “Connect,” as the instructional platform. Based on discussions with the other partner universities in Canada and Kenya and the early technical challenges of managing the Learning Centre our Educational Technology Support team initially decided to use Moodle as a “common” platform. In the meantime, collecting student information, such as email addresses, or creating login IDs and passwords suddenly became an enormous problem for the administrative systems of UBC. In a culture with a long tradition of oral history and the custom of sharing everything, including knowledge, the idea of individual email addresses or login accounts was considered very odd.

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Although a substantial budget was allocated for delivery of the program, there was little funding available for technology besides what was available in the well-equipped computer labs. It was not possible to purchase additional digital tools like tablets, for example, that were issued to students in some programs offered by other partner universities. To honour the traditional lecture-heavy instructional style that most Dadaab students were accustomed to, and to maximize the students’ extraordinary ability to memorize huge amounts of information, we decided to make frequent use of lecture captures. These were to be made available on the computers in the lab prior to the arrival of students for the start of each class. In addition, we were considering using a low-cost technology – MP3 players – to provide students with audio versions of the lectures, which they could listen to at any time, even on the way to the Learning Centre. Although podcasts are not considered an innovative technology in many contexts, they may be both innovative and useful in others (Gachago, Livingstone, & Ivala, 2016). Gachago et al.’s research argues that “… mature students, whose home language is an African language, found podcasting most useful” and furthermore, “that regular podcasts of difficult, content-heavy lectures seem to have attracted most engagement” (2016, p. 869). We determined that synchronous class interaction through platforms such as Skype was not a good option to deliver the bulk of course content. A live connection would make the session more engaging and would allow students to ask questions in real time and feel more connected to the instructor, but access to the computer lab was not reliable and internet connectivity was not always stable. This meant curriculum that relied heavily on synchronous sessions could not be delivered if there were technical difficulties. Instead, we relied on asynchronous course delivery on platforms that were mobile compatible. Even though the primary learning management system used by UBC is Blackboard “Connect,” very soon we decided that it would not be the best or most effective platform for Dadaab. A Moodle installation at Dadaab was moving too slowly and the courses could not be designed fast enough for the start of the program. Instead, we used WordPress (https://wordpress.org) as the platform for this project because of its ease of use and mobile compatibility. Course material was posted on a WordPress-based blog and the commenting feature was enabled so students could post their assignments or ask questions. It was also possible to password-protect specific sections of the blog and keep parts of the blog accessible to the public. A common password was used and shared with the Dadaab students so they did not have to create and remember individual usernames and passwords. The program blog has a short, easy-to-remember URL. For the first offering, each course was set up as a section in the program blog. Going forward, each course will be hosted on its

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own blog space and be linked to the main program blog. This new organization will make it easier to manage ongoing student submissions and comments. The methods of presenting content varied. In some courses, it is presented in video with supplemental text instructions for submission of assignments. We used screen-capture software to produce some of the lecture videos. The software recorded everything displayed on the screen as well as the audio and video from the computer’s microphone and webcam. The instructors would open their teaching material (such as PowerPoint slides, a website, or a Word document) then speak about the content as they worked through the teaching material. This process streamlined the lecture video production in three ways. First, instructors could utilize the material they were already using in the face-to-face version of the course, or modify it for this particular program. This eliminated the need to write out the course content in text. Before commencing recording, instructors could update the material using software they were already familiar with, without assistance from a media specialist. Second, the instructors were trained on how to use the software so recording could take place whenever they had time. Third, the recording equipment needed was just a laptop with a webcam and a USB microphone. This meant that instructors could record the videos in their own offices or homes without needing to record in a studio. Since the screen capture software recorded the webcam and audio as the instructor was going through the teaching material, the instructor’s facial expressions and body language were also captured. This made the video more lively and engaging to the students. The software also captures cursor movements and a highlight can be added to the cursor so the viewer can more easily follow. This is similar to an instructor using a laser pointer in the classroom. We realized captioning could improve comprehension by reinforcing spelling and eliminating spoken accents. Closed captioning could also be made available as a transcript so students could read and search through text in addition to listening to and watching the video. Creating closed captioning for videos did take extra time and money, but was reported to be quite useful to the students. As students watched videos available on the blog, they could post questions and submit assignments on the same platform. The instructors could interact asynchronously with students by replying to a blog comment or use WhatsApp. The use of WhatsApp was an organic development. As discovered early on, most of the students not only had their own mobile device but also had WhatsApp installed on their phone. This application allows one-to-one and one-to-many conversations, so instructors could send a message to a specific student or add all the students to a group and send a group message. In the second offering of the program, one instructor used WhatsApp to send a short

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welcome video prior to the course start date to pre-establish a relationship with the students. After we recognized the ubiquitous nature of WhatsApp, our technology support team worked with instructors to take advantage of all the features available to enhance instruction and ease communication with students. The entire BHER project also found it essential to have people “on the ground” in the camps who could help students solve technology problems and also check in with those who missed classes or were considered at risk of dropping out. Maintaining the equipment in the computer labs in the Learning Centre was essential since many students relied on the labs for completing course assignments, but assistance was also needed in the camps. As the project progressed, more and more schools in the camps acquired internet access. Although not always reliable, it provided another way for students to complete coursework, especially when the camps were on “lock down” because of security concerns. But having someone available in the camps who could problem solve with students has been essential to retention of students. Ito et al.’s “connected learning” approach advocates the use of technology for learning that is “socially embedded, interest-driven, and oriented toward educational, economic, or political opportunity” (2012). UBC has learned its way through a challenging project that has clearly been an example of “connected learning,” but the story is not over. In the final section of this chapter, we summarize the primary lessons we have learned thus far with the hope that our experience will be useful to others who accept the challenges of supporting the learning of the mobile, the displaced and the marginalized.

7

Lessons Learned

It is dangerous to enter a project like this with any fixed pre-conceptions about refugees as learners. We knew that most of those in the Moi/UBC program were secondary school graduates but many of them were also regarded as esteemed leaders in the refugee community. They were talented, highly motivated learners who were deeply committed to their teaching and to their community. Once we realized their leadership roles in the community, we were able to recruit them into key roles in promoting and sustaining a collaborative learning environment. Ensuring the full inclusion of women and equal access to technology are major and continuing challenges. Addressing the goal of enhancing gender equity had to be approached with great sensitivity given the cultural norms and practices of the largely Somali Muslim community. The social roles assigned to women who were eligible for BHER programs made recruitment

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and retention challenging. We learned that no single strategy would work; that multiple and sustained approaches were necessary to address the particular needs of women students including, for example, soliciting funding for sanitary supplies and solar lamps, so women could study in the evenings after their domestic responsibilities were completed. The project also set aside space in the Learning Centre to be used by those students who were also nursing mothers. These various strategies were needed in combination to address the complex personal circumstances of students in the program. Discovering directly from the learners how they use technology in their day-to-day activities is the best way to establish a base for incorporating technology into instruction. We made several false starts when deciding about how to use technology. Knowing that well-equipped computer labs would be available led us to assume initially that we could rely on our campus learning management system for the online portion of courses. When student access to our system became an issue, we tried “standardizing” BHER programs on the Moodle platform by installing it in the computer labs, but that had another set of problems. Although we knew that mobile devices – and the WhatsApp application – were ubiquitous in the camps, we were slow to realize their potential to connect with students and to support instruction. Universities working in refugee settings must be ready to adjust/adapt to the changing context. This often requires flexibility in the application of policies and procedures to the specific circumstances encountered “on the ground.” The continually changing security situation in Dadaab, for example, requires constant adjustments to courses, processes and expectations. We, like our other partners, had to “negotiate” within our own institution when events in Dadaab…and in the lives of individual students … required adjustments – and occasionally exceptions – to standard practice. The example given above of UBC’s inappropriate “security questions” for Dadaab students resulted in an institutional-level change wherein new questions were crafted that avoid assumptions about students coming from a particular cultural or socialeconomic context. The complex of camps that make up Dadaab are widely scattered and all are some distance from the project’s Learning Centre. Although there is a transportation system in place, it is not free and does not operate when the camps are in “lock down.” This created challenges for the project because if the transportation system was not running or was not affordable for students, they could not come to the Learning Centre. This is another example of the importance of understanding the local context and the complexities of student movement between where they live and where learning resources are located. In order to address this issue, we had to mount a separate fund-raising campaign – and call on assistance from the UNHCR – to facilitate student

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movement to the Learning Centre to attend face-to-face instructional sessions and to use the computer labs. Refugees expected to learn in a non-native language learn best when orally-presented material – including those presented in video form – is made available for students to review multiple times. We learned, in fact, that providing textual and non-textual information using multiple distribution channels (including USB drives and DVDs) is the best way to ensure that most students will be able to access and engage with the material. We were always mindful of the privilege native English speakers have in a globalized world where English has become lingua franca. These are a few of the lessons we have learned thus far in this important project. The creative use of technology has been essential to the successes achieved thus far, but the challenges are not over. We must now learn our way through the threat of the camps closing in near future and students relocating to many other areas. We will no doubt be relying even more on technology as we invent ways to help these “people on the move” complete program requirements from their new homes, wherever those may be!

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Contributing to the Dialogue

After conducting a recent comprehensive “landscape review” of educational projects carried out with various technologies in contexts of conflict and crisis, Dahya (2016) makes the following observation: The great possibilities of ICT [information and communication technologies] for education in conflict and crisis are entirely tied to the ongoing, thoughtful, complex work of the people teaching, developing tools, designing curriculum, and administering funds for education. Continued communication and exchange across these dedicated people and communities may exponentially benefit the field as a whole. Important to the conversation is a reminder that communities living through the tragedies of conflict and crisis are people with a wealth of knowledge and expertise. In each context, decisions about education, teaching, learning, and system strengthening require partnership and collaboration in and with those communities for whom education is a priority, and for whom ICT already play an important role. (p. 35) A great deal is being learned about the promise and limitations of technology in educational settings like Dadaab. It does not appear likely that there will soon be a reduction in the numbers of those people “on the move” who need

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high quality educational opportunities to pursue their aspirations. We look forward to learning more from others who are doing similar work and to contributing to the growing knowledge base about the use of technology in contexts of conflict and crisis.

Acknowledgements The project described in this chapter was part of a collaboration between York University, Toronto, Canada; the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya; Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya; Windle Trust Kenya, Nairobi; and World University Service of Canada, Ottawa; with financial support from Global Affairs Canada. The consortium works under the name of Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER) with the main administrative office at York University. We must also acknowledge the support this project has received from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which has overall responsibility for running the camps at Dadaab.

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Natasha Boškić University of British Columbia, Canada Thomas J. Sork University of British Columbia, Canada Rita Irwin University of British Columbia, Canada Samson Nashon University of British Columbia, Canada Cynthia Nicol University of British Columbia, Canada Karen Meyer University of British Columbia, Canada Sharon Hu University of British Columbia, Canada