Eighth International Conference on Higher Education Advances
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Information and communication technologies together with new teaching paradigms are reshaping the learning environment. The International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd) is a consolidated forum for researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas, experiences, opinions and research results relating to the preparation of students and the organization of educational systems.
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- PublicationA Campus Huaka‘i: Weaving Geological, Historical & Cultural Perspectives in Hawai‘i(Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València, 2022-05-31) Bruno, Barbara; Tachera, Diamond; Engels, Jennifer; Rowland, Scott; National Science Foundation, EEUU; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, EEUU[EN] The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa is striving to become a Native Hawaiian place of learning. As part of this effort, we developed a huaka‘i (fieldtrip) to explore the intertwined geological, historical, and cultural influences on our campus. Our purpose is two-fold: (1) to showcase an example of how science can be taught in ways that honor Hawaiian culture and history; and (2) to stimulate interest and collaborations among faculty to develop additional place-based curricula offerings that draw connections between Hawaiian culture and Western science. Evaluations of a pilot fieldtrip generated considerable positive and constructive feedback, which was used to significantly improve the fieldtrip. In this paper, we share an abbreviated version of the current fieldtrip, and sincerely welcome any additional comments and suggestions.
- PublicationPerception and confidence on weather forecasts among Spanish undergraduate students enrolled in different subjects related to physics(Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València, 2022-05-31) Gómez, Igor; Valor, Enric; Molina, Sergio; Niclòs, Raquel; Caselles, Vicente; Universitat d'Alacant[EN] The current study focuses on Spanish undergraduate students enrolled in Meteorology-related subjects that would make use of weather forecasts in their future professional careers. The main aim of this study is twofold. Firstly, to evaluate the students’ confidence in the current weather forecasts. Secondly, to analyze the students’ perception and understanding of uncertainty associated with weather-related forecasts. To address these issues, a Google Form questionnaire was developed. A total of 101 students participated in the corresponding survey during the academic year 2018-2019. Results show that students have a well-founded opinion and a fairly solid knowledge of weather forecasts, both regarding confidence and in relation to the trend found in the current weather forecasts towards less accurate predictions for larger lead times. The results found in the current study are in line with previous research conducted in different specific contexts and should be taken into account to implement different learning strategies in the classroom.
- PublicationRebuilding our Toolkits for the future - How social science research educators changed their teaching in 2020 and 2021 to be fit for a digital future(Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València, 2022-05-31) Hasengruber, Katrin; Prandner, Dimitri; Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung, Austria[EN] Adaptation to digital teaching during the COVID-19 crisis were not the same for all disciplines. Subject-specific pedagogical concepts were sometimes more or sometimes less easy to transfer to this new environment. In particular, teaching areas like social science research methods (SSRM) that on the one hand require personal interaction, practical application and individual support of students, and on the other hand have little previous standards and didactic know-how, with digital or virtual teaching elements, faced specific challenges. In a [COUNTRY] interview study, experiences of SSRM educators have been analyzed. Digitization related changes are less apparent on the content level, but pronounced at the didactic level. Main challenges are: encouraging students' attention and participation, providing opportunities for good collaboration on all levels. Chances for the future are seen in the newly expanded the pedagogical toolbox. Implementing tools supporting communication in the virtual space could free resources for direct support for students.
- PublicationWhen technology meets educational sciences: Combining virtual reality and microteaching to train pre-service teachers’ kindergarten classroom management strategies(Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València, 2022-05-31) Mouw, Jolien; Fokkens-Bruinsma, Marjon; Netherlands Initiative for Education Research; Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, Netherlands[EN] In our study, we asked 19 pre-service teachers (PSTs) about their experiences with and perceptions of a microteaching-supported virtual reality (VR) kindergarten classroom where they practiced and experimented with different classroom management strategies (CMS). We analyzed quantitative and qualitative responses to gain insight into the perceived usefulness of this learning environment for CMS development and transfer to internship practices. The quantitative results show that practicing in the VR classroom supported mastery of CMS and helped PSTs to manage behaviors at their internships. The qualitative data suggest that the microteaching approach can support transfer of CMS practiced in the VR-kindergarten classroom to in-situ classroom management situations, possibly because of the opportunity to collaboratively engage in reflexive practices. Moreover, PSTs raised valuable suggestions to further improve the microteaching structure to strengthen the effect of peer feedback. The results of this study underline the importance of purposefully grounding VR applications in proven instructional theories.
- PublicationLearning ecology theory as a tool to support student digital competences in higher education(Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València, 2022-05-31) Stone, Suzanne; Lowney, Rob[EN] The need for digitally competent graduates is well established and articulated in the New Skills Agenda for Europe (European Commission, 2016) and the European Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 (European Commission, 2021). The Enhancing Digital Teaching and Learning (EDTL) project seeks to enhance graduate digital attributes by providing professional development to academics to embed digital technologies across the curriculum (Flynn et al., 2020). Two key challenges to this work are: a lack of data on the specific digital competences required in the workplace; and a lack of clarity on the contexts in which students develop digital competences. This paper examines these challenges by reflecting on the results of a small-scale research study on the competences required in the workplace in Ireland, through the lens of learning ecology theory. The paper proposes that learning ecology theory can be a useful tool to support student digital competences in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).