The expansion of public, postsecondary education and the attendant additional costs associated with that expansion are significant concerns to governments everywhere. Ontario is no exception. Innovation in the delivery of academic programs holds the potential to contain costs, improve quality, and enhance accountability. This project is intended to assist the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HECQO) to better understand how a shift to competency-based education might affect the cost and quality of higher education programs, institutions and systems and to investigate how competency-based education might enhance the productivity and accountability of public higher education systems and institutions.
Most astronomers teaching undergraduate astronomy aspire to connect their students directly with the night sky. In the same way that a biologist might want her students to actually handle live specimens or a geologist for his students to chip away at real rocks, astronomers want their students to actually see and observe planets, stars and galaxies. Sadly, the combination of urban light pollution, unpredictable weather and daytime teaching schedules make this impractical. This is especially the case for high-enrolment survey courses, which present the additional complication of huge numbers of students to schedule.
An increasingly common strategy is to teach astronomy in digital planetariums: domed rooms on whose ceilings can be projected fantastically detailed representations of the night sky. Planetariums are, in many ways, more useful than the actual sky: they can be used during the day, are not subject to changeable weather, and can be manipulated to show sights not normally visible in the actual sky. Even better, digital planetariums can have control interfaces which are simple enough that almost anyone can use them – ours uses an off-the-shelf video game controller.
Major Trends Impacting Open & Distance Learning
When one does trend analyses on Open & Distance Learning over a
period of time, three key factors emerge:
1. Firstly, there are as many trends as there are practitioners. The art of strategic foresight is to identify trends which are not temporary, which are not just local, and which will have sustaining impact. I have identified seven.
2. Second, that many of the trends will have limited, or no bearing on your specific educational context in the short term, but may have longer term impacts, both on the competitive educational environment in which we now all function and, hence, on
institutions.
The characteristics of appropriately worded behavioral objectives and the advantages for curriculum design and implementation of a clear specification of objectives in advance of any teaching or testing have been articulated by a number of people, for example, Mager, Popham, and Sullivan. Essentially, a behavioral objective is a statement or description of intent. It is not, however, a statement of what a teacher intends to do, but rather, a statement of what the teacher intends that the student will be able to do or produce at the conclusion of some period of instruction.
A properly stated behavioral objective must describe without ambiguity the nature of learner behavior or product to be measured. Two major advantages are claimed for behavioral objectives. First, they provide clear end points toward which all can strive; and second, because they focus on expected terminal performance of students (what students are expected to be able to do), they suggest methods of assessing the extent to which objectives have been realized. The apparent logic of such an approach is obvious to all; to argue against behavioral objectives would seem to be to argue for ambiguity, if not irrationality. Nevertheless, a number of people have drawn attention to some of the difficulties and possible hazards of the approach, for example, Atkin,5 Eisner,6 and this author. It is not my intention here to go over old ground; however, I do wish to draw attention to some very serious dangers in evaluating programs from the simple instructional model implied in the behavioral approach.
The priority for the Ontario government – for its economic ministries, its education ministries, and for the entire government – must be economic growth and helping more people find good jobs.
The purpose of this study was to identify how entrepreneurship education is delivered in Ontario colleges and universities. In Ontario, as in the rest of Canada, the increase in the number of entrepreneurship courses at universities and colleges, and the concurrent popularization and maturation of entrepreneurship programming, contribute to fostering entrepreneurial skills and mindsets, and the creation of businesses. The overall aim of this report is to inform debate and decision-making on entrepreneurship education through a mapping and assessment of existing programs in the province.
This handbook is intended to serve as a resource for faculty, staff, academic leaders and education developers engaged in program and course design/review, and the assessment of program-level learning outcomes for program improvement. The assessment of learning outcomes at the program-level can assist in making improvements to curricula, teaching and assessments plans.
What do 6,000 Quebec (Canada) students do with their iPads every day? What benefits does this technology have for education? What are the challenges for students and teachers? To respond to these questions and to shed more light on this new education trend, we decided to carry out one of the largest studies to date on the use of iPads in education in collaboration with 18 elementary and high schools in the province of Quebec, Canada. By the same token, we wanted to help teachers, students, principals, parents, educators, and other education stakeholders use the iPads for learning in more reflective and educational ways. The results show that the benefits outweigh the challenges. It would appear that incorporating the iPad into education constitutes a necessary risk for schools, and that this technological tool has breathtaking cognitive potential. At
the same time, introducing it into the classroom does not necessarily make for a smooth transition. On the contrary, this new technology can pose challenges that teachers may find hard to cope with if they are caught unaware. The key to successful integration of the iPad in education is therefore to provide teachers with proper training.
Universities and colleges strive to grow and fulfill their mission of educating their communities. Communicating the data around that mission—how many students are graduating? What does the student population look like? Is the University managing its finances?— is an important component of any institution’s daily life. In this era of larger data and disparate data sources, that can be especially challenging. However, institutions that have been able to present important data online have been able to tell their stories better and engage with their communities in a meaningful way.
This paper presents eight ways that higher education is using analytics and data visualization, supported by examples from real institutions. It also addresses common issues such as keeping data up-to-date as well as appropriately private and secure.
While budgets are being cut and positions not being refilled, it is no surprise that universities are also beginning to feel the effects of a weakened economy. Student retention has remained a prominent issue in the literature for several decades now, still with no definite answer on why students fail to persist and graduate (Morrow & Ackerman, 2012). In an effort to gain more
insight into this phenomenon, the purpose of this study is to understand retention by assessing resiliency in students who have experienced adverse childhood events. The goal of this study is to identify if resiliency, as a psychosocial factor, influences student persistence in the first year at a university when the student is identified as at-risk (i.e. the student has dealt with an identified past trauma). An agglomeration of Tinto’s Student Integration Model and the Diathesis Stress Model will be used to understand how resilience and psychopathology can affect persistence decisions in the first year. If services can be implemented for students in their first year, it is possible that more students would persist and graduate.
Numerous studies have shown the benefits for Western universities of recruiting international students, finding that a diverse student body exposes students to different cultures and ideas, helps them develop globally relevant skills, and enriches classroom discussions.
But recent data suggest that domestic students often fail to perceive these benefits, and that, in some cases, they are decidedly lukewarm about learning alongside foreigners.
Among the things which I have found most fascinating - and often frustrating too - in the study of postsecondary education are the frequent instances where major goals or functions seem to be, or are alleged to be, in conflict with one another.
An example is the purported conflict between teaching and research. The notion that these two functions of the university are inherently in conflict goes back at least a century and a half to John Henry Newman who argued that teaching and research require different temperaments and conditions and are best done in different settings. Newman's view has not prevailed, and in fact, a central tenet of the contemporary university is that teaching and research are complementary. Still, there are many who feel that there is a conflict, if only for scarce resources and attention. They suggest that the university sector could ccommodate more students and do a better job of educating them if only some universities would cut back on research and become predominantly teaching institutions.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) (“the Agencies”) are federal granting agencies that promote and support research, research training and innovation within Canada. As publicly funded organizations, the Agencies have a fundamental interest in promoting the availability of findings that result from the research they fund, including research publications and data, to the widest possible audience, and at the earliest possible opportunity. Societal advancement is made possible through widespread and barrier-free access to cutting-edge research and knowledge, enabling researchers, scholars, clinicians, policymakers, private sector and not-for-profit organizations and
the public to use and build on this knowledge.
What are digital textbooks?
Today’s K-12 students have grown up with technology. Most wouldn’t dream of looking up information in a hardbound dictionary or encyclopedia; they turn to Internet search engines when they have questions, perhaps using a smartphone or tablet. News comes not on newsprint, but from Google News; writing to friends means Facebook, not a letter (what’s that?); phone books and watches are artifacts from another age. Yet such digital natives are often expected to attend schools equipped with aging, heavy, hardbound textbooks — some a decade old and outdated (history texts that remind them that the U.S. has never elected an African-American president, for example). They then are asked to tote five or six or more such books from school to home each day.
Enter the digital textbook, defined as anything stored on a digital medium that can be transmitted through various
digital devices over computer networks, including the Internet. Students can access digital books on e-readers, tablets and smartphones; and on netbooks, laptops or desktop computers. Because the books can be read on mobile devices, the materialcan travel with students just as a physical textbook can, but in a much lighter and more compact way (no more overstuffed backpacks). Textbooks displayed on digital devices can take advantage of Web 2.0 tools: multi-media features (video and audio clips); interactivity (quizzes, games); the ability to search and annotate text; text-to-speech functionality; and customizable (and current) content. In the classroom, teachers can project digital content from these books onto interactive whiteboards and engage the class in viewing material together. Notes taken on the interactive whiteboard can be stored and saved to each student’s laptop, tablet, netbook or smartphone, while students can use their digital devices to submit answers to quizzes or problems. All of these features make digital textbooks more relevant to today’s students, who then become more engaged in learning.
On-line, blended and other forms of web enhanced learning are becoming increasingly popular as a means of delivering post-secondary education. According to a recent report completed by the Higher Education Strategy Associates, 57% of
Canadian university courses make use of some online component (Rogers, Usher & Kaznowska, 2011).
The decision of Mohawk College to move to blended learning was part of a strategic plan begun in 2008 that focused on “advancing educational outcomes through the strategic integration of learning technologies” (Mohawk College 1). To this end the college formulated a committee composed of faculty, administration and management to examine the various learning platforms current at that time (FirstClass, WebCT) and tasked with deciding which learning management system the college
should adopt. They selected Desire2Learn (D2L) as the learning management system to be adopted, and a further plan was developed to have all courses fully blended within five years of the initial start-up of D2L in 2009. Blended learning is defined as using the web “to deliver substantial course materials accompanied by a strategic reduction in face-to-face contact. Online and
face-to-face learning spaces are thoughtfully integrated, maximizing the unique characteristics of each, in order to enhance the quality of the learning experience” (Mohawk College 2).
The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors affecting the success of First Nations learners in education in Canada and the types of initiatives required to support the successful transition of First Nations learners to post-secondary. A description of First Nations peoples and a brief overview of the historical context of education for First Nations in Canada will assist the
reader in understanding the reality of First Nations communities and schools, and the impacts on First Nation learners. It is these experiences that prompt the design, development and delivery of specialized programs and services required to assist First Nations students with their transitions to post-
secondary education.
Few academics endorse bullying of or by their colleagues. But is bullying something about which disciplinary associations can take a stand? Can bullying even be defined in ways that don't limit strongly worded criticism that is part of academic freedom?
In response to stronger demand for access to degree programs and changing expectations from employers due to labour market needs, the Ministry made a number of decisions about how to increase access to a broader range of degree opportunities in April 2000. One of those decisions was to allow Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAATs) to offer degrees in applied areas of study. These degrees differ from research-focused degrees because they have a strong focus on preparation for entry to practice occupations. The first degree programs began development in 2001. As of the evaluation period, thirteen of the twenty four colleges in Ontario were offering college degree programs.
Getting students to take their reading assignments seriously is a constant battle. Even syllabus language just short of death threats, firmly stated admonitions regularly delivered in class, and the unannounced pop quiz slapped on desks when nobody answers questions about the reading don’t necessarily change student behaviours or attitudes. Despite the correlation between reading and course success, many students remain committed to trying to get by without doing the reading, or only doing it very superficially, or only doing it just prior to exam dates. In return, some exasperated instructors fall into the trap of using valuable class time to summarize key points of the readings. It’s not a new problem, and clearly we can’t simply bemoan the fact that students don't read. Furthermore, doing what we’ve been doing — the threats, the endless quizzes, the chapter summaries — has failed to solve the problem. The better solution involves designing courses so that students can’t do well without reading, and creating assignments that require students to do more than just passively read.
Featuring 11 articles from The Teaching Professor, this special report was created to give faculty new ways of attacking an age-old problem. Articles in the report include:
. Enhancing Students’ Readiness to Learn
. What Textbook Reading Teaches Students
. Helping Students Use Their Textbooks More Effectively
. Text Highlighting: Helping Students Understand What They Read
. When Students Don’t Do the Reading
. Pre-Reading Strategies: Connecting Expert Understanding and Novice Learning
Whether your students struggle with the material or simply lack the motivation to read what’s assigned, this report will help ensure your students read and understand their assignments.
Too many students are dropping out of doctoral programs or taking too long to finish, prompting some universities to question what they can do to help them along.