Designing for collaborative learning spaces: An academic staff development pilot program

Academic staff development programmes are meant to assist newly appointed academic staff members in executing their duties effectively as university teachers. Newly appointed academic staff members join the university system with only their discipline knowledge (mode one of knowledge production). However, they are expected to teach and impart knowledge to students such that they become equipped for the marketplace. With rapid globalisation in a volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous world economy, newly-appointed academic staff members have continued to apply conventional methods of teaching as they were instructed to do, thus affecting teaching practice and the quality of graduates they release. A need has thus arisen to reconsider academic staff development in terms of a dynamic approach which recognizes that academia is not divorced from the socio-economy and rapidly changing environment. A University of Technology functions as a system where all stakeholders work towards producing graduates who are equipped to function in the marketplace. When a systems approach is used, the appreciation of academic staff development is from a broader perspective. This includes understanding interactions between all facets of the institution, its staff members, students, curriculum and the broader society. The interaction and interconnectedness of components is complex and the output, which is the graduate student, is a product of these complex relationships. Two Universities of Technology were conveniently sampled, from each of which participants were purposively selected to participate in the study. A qualitative case study design was employed from a social constructivism lens in order to explore academic staff development programmes for newly appointed academic staff members in Universities of Technology. Interviews and focus group discussions guided by a Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) were used to elicit data from participants. Participants’ experiences were critical in outlining their perceived ways of viewing the world. Hence, soft issues were unearthed as critical in fostering the academic development of newly appointed academic staff members. The process of facilitation and initiation of academic staff development, the role of academic leadership in academic staff development and current practices of academic staff development have a significant bearing on individual development.

Tensions between academic and professional staff are still experienced in universities of technology. The article focuses on the mobility and shifting boundaries which appear to be developing in regard to this working relationship at one South African university of technology. The mixed-methods exploratory research involved data gathered in 2018 and in 2021 from both academic and professional staff. The data included findings from staff whose work spans both roles and those who have moved from one role to the other. Findings indicate that professional staff are often drawn into performing teaching and research functions, and yet experience barriers which impede their academic progress. The article argues for more overt recognition and facilitation of this blending of roles, which would seem to be particularly appropriate for universities of technology. No current literature exists on this phenomenon in South African Universities of Technology and this article hopes to fill this gap and initiate this conversation.

This paper discusses the philosophy behind utilizing blogs to engage Postgraduate learners at the College of Fine Arts (COFA) University of New South Wales (UNSW). Digital diaries (Gleaves, Walker & Grey, 2007) were established to enable a reflexive and collaborative space in which students could discuss and reflect on their personal experiences while completing a compulsory arts industry Internship. The virtual learning environment (VLE) through my eLearning Vista allowed for a range of asynchronous communication initially in the discussion forum (DF) for these online learners to increase student engagement while completing their internship. The DF did allow students to collaborate and discuss their work practices in the arts industry it however, did not offer students the reflective learning space that a digital blog diary could provide. It will be argued that blogs are effective teaching and learning tool for engaging students proactively in a collaborative learning space in higher education.

This article focuses on academic staff development in higher education in South Africa. It emphasises the importance of locating academics within the broader racialised contexts and history of the country. Recognising the complexities of social academic exclusion in relation to academics working across the sector in diverse universities, the article argues that academic staff development programmes which provide formulaic interventions are far less likely to have a long term impact on the individual and the sector. The social and academic legacies of racial segregation continue to permeate the professional experiences of marginalised academics, the support they receive for their career aspirations, and the recognition (without acknowledgement) of institutional and systemic barriers to their success (Breetzke and Hedding 2018; Khunou 2018; Hlengwa 2019). The literature is replete with references to humanising pedagogies for students yet is overwhelmingly silent on the impact on the academic or aspirant academic. For transformation initiatives to have an impact, there is clearly a need to humanise the participants in academic development processes. What this implies is a full appreciation of the fact that academics enter universities with histories and experiences that inflect their work is central to the success of the transformation project. Thie article is premised on social justice which informs an understanding of transformation as the empowerment of academics through academic staff development programmes. Predicated on Sen’s “capability” approach, the article argues that academic development in the context of South Africa cannot afford to ignore the fractured history of the country. Keywords: academic staff development, transformation, social justice, South Africa, higher education, exclusion

Transition to online learning presents technological and emotional challenges. Lack of attention to staff-student relationships, coupled with limitations in technology can be demotivating. Losing face-to-face contact has left academic staff with the hard work of reinventing themselves, finding new ways to assert their presence and humanity in what can be experienced as soulless and sometimes soul-destroying online environments. Professional development in online teaching can be reduced to top-down skills training in using specific tools. In this paper we argue for a more playful, collaborative approach to professional development, creating spaces for exploration, risk-taking, enjoyment and participation.
 Ongoing changes in technologies and a shift to almost entirely online learning in the Open University has required us to work differently with students. Most OU tuition is done by associate lecturers, on fractional contracts when this project was carried out, who work closely with students but rarely create curriculum, assessment or strategy. This reflects a wider trend within the HE sector towards casualised, precarious labour, with those closest to students often lacking power.
 This paper reflects on a scholarship project focused on the lived experience of four associate lecturers, negotiating the transition from blended to entirely online tuition, working with two full-time academic staff. Participants differed in experience and enthusiasm for online learning; some keen 'early adopters', others closer to the 'reluctant majority'. Using action learning sets, online spaces and pedagogical practices were explored through shared self-reflections. Building strong relationships between colleagues created space where they could safely experiment. We argue that such 'playful learning' (Nørgård et al., 2017) is key for professional development. It can address reluctance to embrace new technologies and empower participants to reclaim their professional identity and expertise. Participants shifted from considering online learning as an obstacle, to seeing new opportunities to create democratic, inclusive, and collaborative learning spaces.

The universality of Web application prompts the rapid development of Web development technologies, which has inspired many students and engineering technicians to study and apply them. Through the research of the Web technology and combining the teaching practice, an autonomous learning platform system about Web system development course was designed and developed. The platform system has the characteristics of self-evolution, Web application dynamic embedding, and abundant learning resources. Also, the platform system provides learners with independent, open, collaborative learning space.

Cultivating online communities of practice to facilitate practice-oriented rural–urban knowledge exchange through collaborative learning spaces

This paper presents the experience in participating in a collaborative learning environment involving different academic programs from various schools of architecture and urban planning within the framework of the OIKONET project. A collaborative project for new urban, environmental and architectural solutions for three social housing blocks built in Dublin in the 1950’s has been designed and implemented on-site and in a web-based learning environment following a blended-learning philosophy. Teachers from other schools have evaluated the student work presented in this environment. This blended-learning approach has contributed to enhancing the educational space of the on-site design studio. Students had to learn the skills to communicate their work in this blended-learning environment in an effective manner.

Findings from this study include a summary of best practices in terms of Academic staff development programme (ASDP) to support the implementation of the Research modules to enhance the university teacher’s research competence. Mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) approach and the case study were used to explore the problem, to find out the result of Research modules implementing into the practical space where university teachers had the opportunity to engage in active training. The authors highlighted general principles of active/ research-based learning in practical space training environments, focused specifically on the content of Research modules for lectures – Early-Stage Researchers, Doctoral candidates (Gr. A, the RM I); for PhDholders, professors, doctoral degree holders (Gr. B, the RM II). The teaching and learning strategies used in the modules were a combination of workshops, case studies, small group discussions, pair peer review and independent study including a literature review of relevant research. The research has shown that competency enhancement programme with Research modules is effective and crucial for developing Academic staff research competence at universities. The evaluation of competence research components has revealed the positive changes and confirmed the effectiveness of the Research modules. The programs of the Modules have effectively contributed to the development of Academic staff research competence. The proposed ASDP can be applied to other universities. Some recommendations for Academic staff developers, Curriculum development managers, coaches are suggested for consideration and using to support the professional development of academic and research staff.

ObjectiveClinical education and collaboration are critical components of developing student physical therapists (SPTs) into safe and competent clinicians. While students may find themselves in various settings upon entering the workforce, working alongside a physical therapist assistant (PTA) is highly likely. With the rise in demand for therapy services, realistic and comprehensive training in SPT-SPTA (student PTA) collaboration is needed to support quality health care.ModelA student-run pro bono clinic hosted within a Midwestern DPT Program uses a peer-to-peer model that provides the space for collaborative learning between SPTs and SPTAs. Serving as a clinical rotation site for 4 weeks, the pro bono clinic schedules an SPTA alongside a pair of SPTs.DiscussionSPTs gain early experience in decision-making related to delegating tasks to SPTAs with various skill levels, engaging in intraprofessional communication and reporting improvements in confidence levels. Qualitative reporting from the SPTAs and their host institution’s faculty indicate that the team approach to learning has become a preference among their students. Furthermore, students feel more comfortable learning and working with fellow young professionals, showing more significant interactions with clients and more opportunities for clinical growth.Clinical relevanceThis model combines two previously described beneficial approaches to learning: a program attached pro bono clinic and a PT/PTA team learning environment. Integrating these concepts may catalyze intraprofessional education of SPTs and SPTAs.

Collaborative and social engagement promote active learning through knowledge intensive interactions. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are dynamic and diversified learning spaces with varying factors like flexible time frames, student count, demographics requiring higher engagement and motivation to continue learning and for designers to implement novel pedagogies including collaborative learning activities. This paper looks into available and potential collaborative and social learning spaces within MOOCs and proposes a social learning space grid that can aid MOOC designers to implement such spaces, considering the related requirements. Furthermore, it describes a MOOC case study incorporating three collaborative and social learning spaces and discusses challenges faced. Interesting lessons learned from the case give an insight on which spaces to be implemented and the scenarios and factors to be considered.

Academic staff are required to change and adopt new teaching approaches to meet the requirements and expectations set by higher education institutions.  This means that there is a drastic need for academics to be competent to help boost their teaching abilities, knowledge, and be encouraged to upgrade their qualifications.  Without a continuous well-coordinated academic training programmes, training and skills development, academics will continuously struggle to perform their core functions which include research, teaching and learning, continuous professional development and community engagement.  The intention of this study therefore, is to identify academics perceptions on academic training programmes provided by the selected university of technology and the predicaments, and the complexities involved in empowering academics to improve their teaching and learning approaches. A quantitative research approach was therefore used, with a questionnaire used as data collection instrument.  Using a nonprobability purposive sampling technique, a sample size of 132 was considered. The study findings revealed that the university lacked a proper system to evaluate and measure the impact of academic training programmes offered to academic staff.  The recommendations were made on different aspects in line with the findings and the study aims and objectives.  But most significantly, the study recommended that a systematic review should done to monitor the impact these training programmes have towards the development and support to teaching and learning

Collaborative classroom has started to replace traditional classroom in education. Flexible learning space promotes an engaging, active and learner friendly learning environment. There are many discussions about their design, architecture, effectiveness and acceptance to the students and lecturers. It is undeniable that collaborative learning space is able to support various types of learning styles of students. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that affect students’ acceptance and usage of X-Space based on the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model. Data were collected from 370 students from five schools of the Foundation Programme. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed to analyse the data. This study focused on Foundation students, and the result should not be used for generalization. In the future, research can be expanded to focus on degree and postgraduate students. Lastly, with the result obtained in this research, it contributes to universities and institutions that plan to introduce and implement similar collaborative classroom facilities. This research can be used as a guide for them to design and implement technologies-rich collaborative classroom.

<p>Indigenous scholars have called for a rethinking of the cultural interface of Indigenous people within the academy. For Māori academics, their culture often has a significant impact on their work, career goals and academic development requirements, yet the academic development literature is largely silent on the needs of Māori academics. Thus, the views of Māori academics could be better reflected in the scholarship and practice of academic developers. This thesis explores the realities of Māori academic staff in New Zealand universities. It presents a literature review about the experiences and preferences of Māori and other Indigenous academics. It also shares three case studies involving seven participants from two different New Zealand universities. The interviews for the case studies were conducted in accordance with kaupapa Māori methodology and using interpretative phenomenological analysis. In addition, this thesis proposes an integrated framework for conceptualising and delivering culturally relevant academic development to Māori academics. Entitled Te Kōtuinga Mātauranga: A Māori Academic Development Framework, it highlights four dimensions that emerged from the case studies and literature as key to Māori academic development: tuakiritanga (identity), pūkengatanga (skills and knowledge), whanaungatanga (relationships) and tikanga (values and practices). It also reflects the holistic nature of Māori academic work and the demand for individual and collective academic development opportunities. The visual portrayal of the framework draws on the traditional Māori weaving style of tāniko. The woven motif serves as a metaphor for both the interconnectedness of the Māori academic development framework and the importance of understanding academic development from an Indigenous viewpoint. Ultimately, this thesis calls for a rethinking of how academic development can be theorised and delivered to centre the cultural aspirations, preferences and practices of Māori academics, and encourages academic developers to be more inclusive in their practice.</p>

Access and equity have long been fundamental concepts underpinning transformation in higher education. Increased student enrolments necessitated the implementation of support structures to bolster student success. However, support provision for academic staff is often overlooked when prioritising student success. In this article, we examine the need for academic support structures in relation to student success from the perspective of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory. We argue the merits of a Teaching Assistant (TA) programme to address issues related to equity of access and success by highlighting the experiences of TAs and academic staff in what can be considered constraining university structures. Based on qualitative participatory principles we collected data by means of a World Café. The paper concludes with the significant contribution made by TAs to academic staff support in addressing the challenge of equity of access and success when working collaboratively. Universities are encouraged to strengthen academic staff development through initiatives that support lecturers in creating spaces for closer student staff engagement, enhancing teaching and learning in the process.