Teaching books

Changing the Conventional University Classroom highlights the interesting interventions practiced around the world by higher education instructors who were forced to make necessary changes in the conversion from face-to-face educational instruction to the use of online and virtual platforms owing to the COVID pandemic. Chronicling how academic staff and instructors were pushed to utilize modern technology and virtual exchange platforms to create meaningful classroom discussions and facilitate lively interactions between learners and faculty members, the chapters showcase the importance of quality assurance and reveal how educators prioritized regular monitoring of students’ interaction, performance, and involvement in class. Collated in this collection of contemporary research, each chapter provides insight into the rapid evolution of educational approaches during the pandemic. Scholars demonstrate how these changes to the conventional way of teaching have shaped the field of education, and how technology is expected to bring further radical improvements in the near future.

The role of ICT is now central to the quality of classroom delivery, supporting the growth of research and expanding horizons for students with limited accessibility to education. But what impediments exist surrounding ICT in Higher Education? How can we overcome the inaccessibility, economic disparity, and ineffective implementation which have prevented the efficient adoption, diffusion and integration of ICT into pedagogy? ICT and Innovation in Teaching Learning Methods in Higher Education is a collection of interventions and collaborative practices from across the world that showcase the multifaceted ways of how various institutions have been engaged in supporting teaching and learning with the use of technology. Written at a critical moment of evolution for higher education, the chapters explore how ICT has created a positive impact in the teaching-learning environment and how it is equipping our future generation with the skills required to face a changing job market, but also present the challenges and solutions to enabling access to ICT resources across educational settings.

International Case Studies in Service Learning contributes a deeper insight into the multifaceted nature of the subject and its associated perplexities. Featuring authors that have adopted a holistic approach, capturing various interventions and approaches and moving to discover the most accurate path towards gaining a complete picture of how service-learning impacts students, the chapters investigate the issue specifically through an emphasis on problem solving, experiential learning and community engagement. Shedding light on how successfully service learning has been adopted to the existing curriculum and the emergence of a new breed of students, who are aligned with the needs of the community and undertake collaborative work to solve real world issues, International Case Studies in Service Learning is invaluable to both researchers, teachers and scholars.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted over a billion students, resulting in a mass transition to online education and the cancellation or postponement of countless seminars, workshops, exams, sports events and conferences. While remote learning has allowed institutions to continue providing education to students throughout these circumstances, it has also created a number of challenges for the mental health of both faculty and students as well as to the technical capabilities of higher education institutions. At the start of the pandemic, not every university had the necessary facilities for the quick switch to remote learning, not all faculty were prepared to make it and not all students were equipped to take on more responsibility for their learning. Pandemic Pedagogy: Preparedness in Uncertain Times collates various case studies and other empirical research that examine learning practices and demonstrate approaches to address future catastrophes and continue the pandemic recovery process. Contributors discuss both theoretical models and strategic frameworks currently in use, as well as the benefits they provide, helping institutions address student and faculty concerns and prioritise future preparedness. Designing an adaptable education system capable of dealing with future crises, Pandemic Pedagogy: Preparedness in Uncertain Times will benefit educators, leaders, policy makers, government organizations, university faculty members and students.

Professional learning networks (PLNs) have been promoted as one way of improving practice in research methodologies and frameworks aimed at the improvement of practice. However, such networks are not yet the norm and there is a growing need for books that provide a theoretical and practical account of how to develop and utilise networks effectively. Mei Kuin Lai and Stuart McNaughton address this need by providing a theoretical and practical account of how PLNs focused on collaborative analysis of data can be integrated into design-based research interventions to improve practice and student learning outcomes. Drawing primarily on examples from a design-based research intervention, the Learning Schools Model, topics covered include theoretical approaches to understanding networks, network purposes and features, constraints and enablers and future directions in utilising networks within design-based research. This intervention is one of the few demonstrations of a consistent and replicable effect of analysing and discussing data in networks on student outcomes within a wider design-based intervention design. The authors discuss the constraints and enablers of the context that influence how PLNs might be implemented across different contexts. Examples of how PLNs can demonstrate fidelity to the general structure of effective networks while adapting to local variations are also provided, enabling readers to conceptualise and design similar networks appropriate to their context.

Role of Education and Pedagogical Approach in Service Learning is a collection of case studies and interventions adopted by academics across the globe to explain and explore the concepts of social responsibility in education, social justice and civility. In the context of virtual learning spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, it might be viewed as increasingly difficult for students to explore opportunities for mitigating real world societal problems. The chapters in this volume demonstrate how academics have showcased, however, that online learning doesn’t mean an end to service learning. Delving into the enhancement potential of online learning, the authors uncover how students can continue to be agents of social change in our more virtual world. Describing the concept of service learning as a model and as a pedagogical tool, the collection offers a framework for service learning that can be inculcated across the higher education sector.

Role of Leaders in Managing Higher Education highlights the importance of leaders in educational institutions. Showcasing a richly diverse authorship, the collection discusses the autonomy of faculty members based on bonds created through ethics, the style of leadership, and the concept of democracy and social justice. Emphasizing that higher educational institutions need to look beyond regular extrinsic motivators to ensure employee engagement to mentor students effectively, the chapters also explore the concept of the glass ceiling and regressive cultures that poses impediments to women as leaders in universities and other educational institutions.

This collection of chapters from established thinkers and emerging scholars provides a series of unique insights into collaboration between schools and the means by which the policy context influences such activity. Taking a global perspective, the chapters within this book follow a common framework to explore how macro-level factors help to create the conditions in which school-to-school collaboration is likely to succeed or fail ‘on the ground’. The result is a nuanced and original analysis that explores why and how collaborative activity between schools is intrinsically linked to broader policy contexts. School collaboration and networking is a rapidly growing area of interest. This book will appeal to the increasing number of emerging scholars and established experts with an interest in this area and other related sub-fields including school effectiveness and improvement, critical policy studies and educational leadership and management. It will also be of interest to policymakers seeking to capitalise on the potential of collaboration between schools and to educational professionals seeking improvement through partnership and dialogue.