Educationalfutures Volume 3(2) June 2011

Educationalfutures Volume 3(2) Contents

Editorial Volume 3(2)

The use of both specialist and generic computing software is well embedded into teaching curricula. Over the last decade geographers have started to use mobile digital media devices (MDMD) to deliver teaching, especially field work, in new and innovative ways. Delivering teaching materials through MDM has created a number of problems. Geography lecturers at Staffordshire University have used MDMD not as tools to deliver learning and teaching materials, but as tools for the students to use in data gathering. This approach has been embedded throughout the curriculum and a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of this project has been undertaken. Initial findings are that students are generally receptive to using MDMD, but surprisingly the more subject specific tools are less favoured. The paper concluded that more research needs to be done, but that in a rapidly changing world of MDMD it is very difficult to keep up with the pace of change.

This paper reports on a research informed teaching project which explored the role of technology in the delivery of the Secondary Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) at Birmingham City University. Our study highlights the problematic nature of imposing a set of normative uses of technology within teaching and learning and suggests that the student voice has an important role to play in shaping innovation.

The research project focussed on a pocketsized camcorder which was issued to staff and students involved in the study. Lecturers were requested to experiment with the technology to supplement their existing practice while students were asked to use the technology during their teaching placements. Both lecturers and students were encouraged to share video clips of their work on a specially created secure repository.

We believe this investigation is important as it examines the introduction of new technology from both a student and a teacher position. It examines a number of current developments and concerns including adoption of technology into the learning and teaching process; incorporation of web technology and social networking sites into a teaching programme; the implications of such developments when external organisations are involved;  and the willingness of both lecturing staff and students to experiment with new technologies.

This paper explores staff and student perceptions of the value of research informed teaching. Presented findings are taken from a study conducted with 56 staff and over 900 students at a UK University. The mixed methods study was comprised of an audit of teaching-research links within the curriculum, interviews with academic staff and a student survey. Findings indicate a widely-held belief in the affirmative symbiosis of teaching and research and a belief that both staff and student engagement in research can have a positive impact upon student learning.

This article examines the perceptions of first year undergraduates concerning the transition from further to higher education study. The findings suggest that most students are anxious about independent learning when they embark on university study but that being taught in large lecture theatres does not cause concern. Furthermore, most students felt that the skills they had acquired in further education did equip them for this role at university. The article concludes by offering a number of recommendations as to how the transition from further to higher education can be eased. The importance of such findings and recommendations is relevant when evidence suggests that those who successfully complete higher education qualifications are more likely to be in work and less likely to be unemployed than those qualified at lower levels (Department for Business Innovation and Skills, 2009: 26).

This Research Informed Teaching Project at Staffordshire University brought together various key organisations involved in working with children and young people in order to present a conference at which the voice of care-experienced and care-giving young people could be clearly heard. The project structured the conference in such a way that the content was determined by children and young people, thereby modelling a student-centred approach to Research Informed Teaching,  so that key themes and messages could be identified for practitioners and trainee students to incorporate into their professional practice. A DVD of the conference has been produced to enable these key research messages to be incorporated into training, education and professional development courses both within the university and by the organisations involved in the project. Implications for teaching and learning more generally are also highlighted.