Design and Practice of Presentation Training in Open Situation for University Students

Aya Inaura,* & Hirotaka Uoi, Department of Digital Games, and Hiroshi Yokoyama, Department of Games & Media, Faculty of Information Science and Arts, Osaka Electro-Communication University, Japan

Abstract

In recent years, some colleges and universities in Japan have put effort into Presentation Training. Such training may concern not only presentations in class, but also competitions, contests, and workshops. At the Osaka Electro-Communication University, we designed a workshop for presentation training and practice that has been offered since 2012. It differs from other universities’ practices in featuring more varied audiences and presenters than customary. We believe that if we can supply presentation training in open situations for students, we can bring their presentation skills to a higher level.

Keywords: presentation training, workshop

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CSU Thinkspace: Using Media Articles within the Blogspace to Enhance Discourse in Accounting Education

Jahanzeb Khan,* School of Accounting and Finance, & Pamela Roberts, Division of Student Learning, Faculty of Business, Justice, and Behavioural Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Australia

Abstract

This paper examines the potential of blogs to instil professional skills and perspectives that undergraduate accounting students require to become competent professionals in a global economy. Blogs provide a compelling platform for engaging teachers and students in discourse on media articles that examine real world accounting challenges, fallacies, and questionable practices. Blogs are an effective online learning technology that encourages critical thinking, reflection and formative feedback. Making use of CSU Thinkspace as a learning platform in an undergraduate accounting subject, preliminary evidence regarding the effectiveness of blogging for developing professional understandings and higher order thinking skills, is discussed.

Keywords: accounting, blog, professional ethics, distance learning

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How Faculty Student Partnerships Can Minimize Student Attrition and Enhance Research/Instruction

Clifford E. Tyler,  School of Education, National University, USA

Abstract

Slovenian higher education (hereafter HE) legislation ensures that students are relatively well integrated in different evaluation procedures as well as in decision- making on the national and on the institutional level. However, the analysis of the Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency’s (SQAA) 2013 report on quality in Slovenian higher education, which contains the evaluation of more than 100 reports, indicated that only one part of the students’ population is directly integrated in the higher education development and quality assurance (QA) procedures prepared by the SQAA experts on a basis of external evaluations, site visits, and initial accreditation procedures of Slovenian study programs and higher education institutions (HEI), and a pilot research conducted among 422 students of Slovenian HEIs.

Keywords: Student-faculty partnerships, student retention, university accreditation

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Students’ Engagement in the Quality Assurance Procedures in Slovenian Higher Education

Katarina Aškerc,* Center of the Republic of Slovenia for Mobility and European Educational and Training Programs, and Alenka Braček Lalić, Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, Slovenia

Abstract

Slovenian higher education (hereafter HE) legislation ensures that students are relatively well integrated in different evaluation procedures as well as in decision- making on the national and on the institutional level. However, the analysis of the Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency’s (SQAA) 2013 report on quality in Slovenian higher education, which contains the evaluation of more than 100 reports, indicated that only one part of the students’ population is directly integrated in the higher education development and quality assurance (QA) procedures prepared by the SQAA experts on a basis of external evaluations, site visits, and initial accreditation procedures of Slovenian study programs and higher education institutions (HEI), and a pilot research conducted among 422 students of Slovenian HEIs.

Keywords: student engagement, institutional governance, pedagogical excellence

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Learning Resolutions: Assessment, Community Building, and Course Closure

Bonnie Farley-Lucas, Southern Connecticut State University, USA

Abstract

Learning resolutions are an end-of-semester classroom exercise designed to help assess learning outcomes, while also providing a community-building experience and a positive closure for a course. Used in conjunction with formal written learning summaries and written course evaluation forms, learning resolutions provide valuable data about what students have learned throughout the course of a semester. This paper defines and offers examples of learning resolutions, reviews benefits for assessment of student learning, community building, and student learning, and provides several variations of active learning modules utilizing learning resolutions that can be adapted and used across all disciplines.
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The Art and Science of Design Education in a New College of Architecture

Christina Joy Hoehn & Hans Peter Wachter, University of Oklahoma, USA

Abstract

Educating today’s design students goes beyond the standard walk and talk of the traditional classroom. Environments that nurture and promote collaboration and integration of technology are becoming a standard, critical for students emerging from the design academy. This paper will discuss the design of a college of architecture at the academy that must promote and foster the concepts of interdisciplinary collaboration, teaming and technology integration. A well-conceived facility creates an environment that will generate students that are ready to enter the design industry at a competitive level after graduation. Creative facility design promotes and enriches inclusive learning in a technologically-based educational discipline.
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Enhancing Classroom Communities and Course Engagement

Tony Holland & Robert Pithers, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

Abstract

The concept of the classroom as a community has been shown to contribute to student course engagement. The research literature also shows that classroom community may also contribute to academic achievement as well. This study looked at some of the variables that might further contribute to an enhanced level of classroom community with both post-graduate and undergraduate university students. The study examined variables such as gender, mode of study and educational experience and their contribution to the development of a sense of community as measured using a Classroom Community Scale. This study will show the relative importance of each of these variables.
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Innovations in the Traditional Chinese University Classroom

Shaobin Ji, Wenzhou Vocational and Technical College, Wenzhou, China

Abstract

Traditionally, the Chinese classroom has been a place where lecturers transmit knowledge to learners. However, with the revolution in modern information technology, the traditional Chinese classroom has been systematically replaced by a virtual and multiple-function classroom where students and their instructors have more opportunity to exchange views on topics jointly set by the learners and instructors. So far the so-called “three-in–one classroom” has emerged from cooperation between higher learning institutions and their industrial counterparts. This paper addresses some critical issues related to this new pedagogical approach, where students are much more actively involved in industrial production as well as in traditional learning. It touches on issues concerning teaching effectiveness, assessment, the changing role of teachers, integrating textbooks with information available online or in the workplace, and the complementary roles of faculty and industry experts in student training.
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University Students’ Self-Regulation of Time Management

Anna S.F. Kwan, The Open University of Hong Kong

Abstract

This study reports on efforts to aid university students on how to manage time to reach their goals. These students are members of a time management self-help group at a university in Hong Kong, who have different degrees of experience in using weekly schedules to manage their time. Interviews were conducted to understand the process of their development, and reveal that their development of time management skills involves at least four stages.
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Students’ Attitudes towards Modes of Evaluation

Mordechai Miron, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the attitudes of Israeli students towards different modes of evaluation. The Sample consisted of 346 undergraduate students who were enrolled in six different faculties. The instrument used in the study was a questionnaire. The analysis of the data indicated that there were significant differences among students’ attitudes from different faculties towards each mode of evaluation.
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