International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
IJTLHE
International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
IJTLHE
International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
IJTLHE
International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
IJTLHE
2015: Volume 27 Number 2

2015 - Research Article
Engin, M., Atkinson, F.
Views: 1179       [1948]
Abstract: This article reports on a faculty learning community (FLC) as a professional development model for faculty in an English–medium university in the United Arab Emirates. The authors describe how the introduction of a new learning and teaching technology, in the form of iPads, resulted in many of the faculty feeling unsure about their pedagogy. A face-to-face FLC was set up with an on-line component. The FLC served as a forum to discuss issues, resolve these problems and develop sound pedagogy in accordance with the culture of the university. The authors present data from blogs, discussion notes and questionnaires, and they discuss the strengths and limitations of a FLC as a model of professional development (PD) in this particular context.

Send article to:

As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


2015 - Research Article
Bondevik, G., Holst, L., Haugland, M., Bærheim, A., Raaheim, A.
Views: 897       [1954]
Abstract: Interprofessional education may be defined as an occasion when two or more professions learn with, from, and about each other in order to improve collaboration and quality of care. We studied the self-reported experiences from Norwegian health care students participating in interprofessional workplace learning in primary care. We discuss the results particularly in light of self-determination theory. During 2012, 24 students from eight different health educations at the University of Bergen and Bergen University College participated in interprofessional learning in primary care organized by the Center for Inter-professional Workplace Learning in Primary Care, Bergen. The students had their training in nursing homes and public health clinics, and they wrote reflective notes describing their learning experiences. The material was analyzed by systematic text condensation. The qualitative data analyses revealed five major areas of learning experiences from workplace practice: learning in an interprofessional setting, teamwork, relationships among the teamwork members, consequences for the patient, and consequences for the future. The results indicate that there is a high degree of learning potential in interprofessional workplace activity in primary care. This kind of learning strategy is an important supplement to traditional training within all health professions.

Send article to:

As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


2015 - Research Article
Sohr-Preston, S., Boswell, S.
Views: 808       [1958]
Abstract: Academic entitlement (AE) is a common source of frustration for college personnel. This investigation examined predictors (self-concept, academic dishonesty, locus of control, and family functioning) of AE in male and female college students. Academic dishonesty and the interaction between locus of control and family functioning significantly predicted AE. Males reported significantly higher levels of AE, and the interaction between locus of control and family functioning was significant only for females. Future research should address possible developmental pathways to AE in adulthood to further understanding of this problematic belief system.

Send article to:

As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


Abstract: Two professors from two disciplines—education and sociology—analyzed the commonalities, differences, successes, and challenges of conducting cross-disciplinary Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research at the course level (micro-level). This case study of their collaboration resulted in a series of lessons learned which add to the literature base on the process of SoTL collaboration. The results of their professional collaboration at this level provide a validation for increased communication and alignment during the development and implementation of the projects developed to enhance teaching and learning in their respective courses. This erudition illuminates the potential of increased SoTL collaborations across disciplines at the micro-level.

Send article to:

As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


2015 - Research Article
Gebre, E., Saroyan, A., Aulls, M.
Views: 1687       [1966]
Abstract: This paper examined professors’ conceptions of effective teaching in the context of a course they were teaching in active learning classrooms and how the conceptions related to the perceived role and use of computers in their teaching. We interviewed 13 professors who were teaching in active learning classrooms in winter 2011 in a large research university in Canada. The interviews captured what professors consider effective teaching, expected learning outcomes for students, instructional strategies and the role participants saw for computers in their teaching. Analysis of interview transcripts using a holistic inductive and constant comparison approach resulted in three conceptions of effective teaching: transmitting knowledge, engaging students, and developing learning independence. Professors’ perception about the role and use of computers was found to be in line with their conceptions of effective teaching. Professors whose conception of effective teaching focused on developing learning independence used computers as tools for students’ learning; those with a transmitting knowledge conception considered computers as a means of accessing or presenting information. Data collected from students about their use and their professors’ use of computers in the course supports this conclusion. Results have implications for design of active learning environments and faculty development initiatives.

Send article to:

As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


2015 - Research Article
Brallier, S., Palm, L.
Views: 820       [1969]
Abstract: This study examined test performance as a function of test format (proctored versus unproctored) and course type (traditional versus distance). The participants were 246 undergraduate students who completed introductory sociology courses during four semesters at a southeastern university. During each semester, the same instructor taught a traditional lecture section and a distance section of the course. Students in both course types took unproctored online tests in two semesters while students in both course types took proctored classroom paper-and-pencil tests in the other two semesters. Students scored significantly higher on the unproctored online tests than on the proctored classroom tests. There was no significant difference in test performance between students enrolled in distance courses and those enrolled in lecture courses. Additionally, no significant interaction was found between test format and course type. Implications of these results for the design and structure of online and hybrid courses are discussed.

Send article to:

As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


2015 - Research Article
Sharpe, E.
Views: 761       [1970]
Abstract: This paper considers education abroad (EA) and its relationship to global citizenship and colonialism by describing and analyzing the agitated interactions of one EA course through a post-colonial lens. Rather than claim the EA experience as emancipatory or colonialist, the paper illustrates the ways that colonialist tendencies can manifest in particular moments and through specific dynamics of an EA course. This paper illustrates the ways that colonialist tendencies related to a reifying of consumerist ideologies, a westernizing of the EA experience, and an ongoing employment of an objectifying tourist gaze became manifest in an education abroad context. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings that includes some ideas for how education abroad programs can address its colonialist tendencies.

Send article to:

As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


Abstract: This paper reports on the way in which Facebook Group used as a learning management system can enhance Thai students’ effective language learning (positive attitude and motivation) in a private university in the vicinity of Bangkok. These two variables are seen to influence learners’ achievement in language learning, and they also interdependently influence one another. The qualitative outcomes deriving from ten participants revealed positive impacts of the Facebook Group usage on their attitude towards, and motivation in, learning English as a specific purpose in a Thai context because they commonly found themselves relevant to the Facebook Group as regular users of Facebook. Partly, the Facebook Group could give them senses of convenience, simplicity and relaxation and reduce cultural power distance between the instructor and them. Out of the exploratory parameter, the Facebook Group could be an online tool to facilitate English learning through error corrections. Positive results offered some insightful suggestions and implications for teachers of English as a foreign language. A specific limitation of this study is also discussed.

Send article to:

As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


Abstract: The direction of university courses is often guided by the results of traditional Likert scale student evaluations. Most of these focus on instructors’ characteristics and frequently do not provide useful insights into students’ learning preferences or feedback regarding specific activities and projects in the courses. This study, carried out in a Midwestern U.S. university, reports the use of Q methodology to capture students’ views of 35 activities in a graduate TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Methods course as to which were most helpful and least helpful to learning course content. During the last class of the semester 19 students carried out Q sorts about different aspects of the methods course. Factor analysis showed how participants grouped onto 3 factors, expressing 3 unique views on how helpful the 35 different course activities were to their learning. The majority of the students were “group-centered learners” who learned best through various face-to-face interactions with classmates. Two were “self-centered learners” who learned best by working independently, then receiving feedback. One learned best through the course’s online activities. Analysis of students’ different views helped researchers determine whether to redesign various aspects of the course to meet different learning preferences.

Send article to:

As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


2015 - Instruction Article
Downs, C., Wilson, A.
Views: 960       [1961]
Abstract: Large first-year class sizes have resulted in many lecturers adopting coping strategies consisting of direct-transmission mode teaching, reduced practical time, and assessment. Recently several strategies have been implemented in an attempt to improve student participation and active learning; however, these changes have to be facilitated and fostered by faculty and administrators. Consequently, we present the implementation, results, and feedback of a new Biology first-year course run for the period 2005-2008. In this course, the number of lectures was reduced, and the number of more co-operative tutorial and practical-based sessions was increased. The aim of these changes was to promote active participation of students and to encourage them to take responsibility for their own learning. Despite some initial problems, most students and staff were positive about the learning experience, and the skills developed were considered of value to other science courses. Other courses are encouraged to follow this example and move to a reduced lecture and increased interactive tutorial/workshop and practical approach to promote student learning and development.

Send article to:

As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


2015 - Instruction Article
Toledo, C.
Views: 816       [1963]
Abstract: In the online environment, the asynchronous discussion is an important tool for creating community, developing critical thinking skills, and checking for understanding. As students learn how to use Socratic questions for effective interactions, the discussion boards can become the most exciting part of the course. This sequel to the article “Does Your Dog Bite? Creating Good Questions for Online Discussions,” applies sound communication principles and the prior question of trust to show online instructors how to phrase probing questions to increase comfort for learners’ use. Based on the questions from the original “Does Your Dog Bite?” article, a variety of prompts are provided for asking probing questions in a non-threatening way.

Send article to:

As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


2015 - Instruction Article
Timmerman, E., Morris, F.
Views: 811       [1973]
Abstract: Team-based learning (TBL) is an approach that builds on both the case method and problem-based learning and has been widely adopted in the sciences and healthcare disciplines. In recent years business disciplines have also discovered the value of this approach. One of the key characteristics of the team-based learning approach consists of exercises that require teams to choose a specific answer and defend it against the answers of other teams. Discipline-specific exercises designed for this approach are not in abundance, and a gap in the literature exists regarding information on how to create effective exercises for the business disciplines. This paper reviews the concept of team-based learning as related to business, discusses the need for help in designing effective exercises, and suggests four avenues for filling the void.

Send article to:

As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.


2015 - Review Article
Buie, R., Bista, K.
Views: 1047       [1962]
Abstract: Educational leadership and Michel Foucault by Donald Gillies (2013) examines the contemporary discourse of educational leadership from the ideas of Michel Foucault. Foucault was a French philosopher and literary critic. In this book, Gillies presents both theory and application of Foucauldian theory to study educational organizations, social hierarchy, and human nature in leadership roles. He highlights the hegemonic status of educational leadership associated with the strategic planning and school outcomes. He views educational leadership through the lenses of postmodernist ideas and concepts as plural discourses, instead of a single discourse. Gillies challenges leaders on the current education stage to advance the dominant educational leadership discourse by using Foucault’s concepts of discourse, discipline, power, and governmentality whether they are from schools, academia, business, or government.

Send article to:

As an open-source journal, IJTLHE makes articles freely available. This utility allows you to email the current article to anyone you wish. Simply enter their email address and click on Submit.

The International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All images courtesy of unsplash.com.