The Journal of Pedagogic Development (JPD) (https://journals.beds.ac.uk/ojs/index.php/jpd) was developed in the Centre for Learning Excellence. It was launched at the University of Bedfordshire conference (5/6 July 2011) and its focus wass on teaching, learning and assessment. The journal ceased in November 2018 (ISSN 2047-3265 for all issues.)

Collections in this community

Recent Submissions

  • The impact of employability on technology acceptance in students: findings from Coventry University London

    Taylor, Aaron; Coventry University (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-10)
    This article seeks to understand impact of employability on technology acceptance in students from a constructivist perspective. The growing significance of technology usage in academia prompted this research as well as the need to understand if the technologies that I and my colleagues use on a regular basis were successful in engaging learners. It was imperative to understand if we were meeting the expectations of our students as well as Coventry University London which has invested a great deal into their implementation. Therefore, 20 students from Coventry University London were interviewed to uncover their thoughts and experiences into their acceptance and ultimate use of learning technologies. These students were interviewed over a two‐year period (2016‐2017) in order to capture accurate data and keep pace with the ever‐evolving and arguably ephemeral nature of technology. Students also participated in focus groups after each set of interviews in order to explore relevant issues in greater depth. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was then applied to ascertain if employability was a significant variable in influencing technology acceptance. It was important to understand if the learning technologies utilised by academics were able to help students gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations. The empirical data confirmed the view that learning technologies which had a positive perceived benefit in enhancing employability outcomes play a significant role in engaging an array of international students in their studies. These findings arguably demonstrate the need for the institution to reconfigure and enhance the clarity of its technology‐enhanced learning strategy as well as its level of support to teaching staff. This proposal will allow academics to have sufficient opportunity to effectively utilise and apply learning technologies as part of their own individual pedagogical strategy and students to improve their employability skills as a result.
  • Moving from learning developers to learning development practitioners

    Briggs, Steven G.; University of Bedfordshire (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-10-18)
    Fifteen years ago the term ‘learning development’ was not well known within the UK higher education sector (Hilsdon, 2018). Although there remains no universal learning development definition, the term has grown in popularity and become synonymous with “look[ing] at the whole higher education learning experience from students' perspectives” (Hilsdon, 2009). Typically, such work focuses on the development of academic literacies / skills (such as writing, maths, study skills, information literacy, good academic practice and ICT) and/or transitions through university. Through adopting a learning development lens, a teacher will endeavour to provide blended, developmental and student‐centred learning opportunities (either through the curriculum, co‐curriculum or extra‐curriculum) that are contextually relevant and timely (as opposed to remedial and bolted‐on). As such, learning development relates to teaching practices per se which means that many teaching and learning professionals (such as Academic Skills Tutors, Subject Lecturers, Librarians, Learning Technologists Educational Developers and EAL/ESoL teachers) will share some affinity with learning development.
  • “We don’t need to write to learn computer sciences”: writing instruction and the question of first‐year, later or not‐at‐all

    Wong, Melissa; Monash University (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-10-18)
    This paper discusses the perceptions of computer science students towards a multidisciplinary writing curriculum that was built into a pathway programme to undergraduate study. A qualitative descriptive investigatory study revealed that computer science students in particular felt a strong disconnect between their disciplinary learning and the learning they did in the academic literacy classroom. The degree to which they experienced the pedagogical and assessment differences between the two learning contexts resulted in mild to strong resistance towards the literacy development aspect of the pathway curriculum. This paper highlights a case where first year computer science students articulates their dissatisfactions in this regard, and explores the question of when computer science students should be taught academic literacy, if it is taught it at all.
  • Puppets and pedagogy in foreign language education: the use of Bloom’s revised taxonomy to model Hispanic puppet theatre as an integrated learning platform

    Zanzana, Habib; University of Scranton (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-10-18)
    This essay explores the unique characteristics of puppet theatre and stage performance in foreign language education using an innovative modeling approach. The study focuses on the learning mechanisms of puppet theatre as demonstrated by an interdisciplinary model that incorporates both Portfolio Analysis as well as Benjamin Bloom's Revised Taxonomy in cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains. The paper uses an original Spanish language play written for the Hispanic Puppet Project, which is a community‐oriented and interactive puppet theatre, comprised of college‐aged students and children from the community. This article examines students' learning objectives, hands‐on tasks, learning outcomes and performative teaching and learning from the staging of a Spanish language play tilted, "Moctezuma y los cinco soles poderosos. La resurrección del imperio azteca." I have created a website with ancillary materials that can be accessed at the following address: https://www.hispanicpuppetsproject.com. The site contains 1) a brief overview of the article; 2) a two‐page synopsis of the legend of Moctezuma and the Five Mighty Suns; 3) an annotated legend written in Spanish and in verse and rhyme; 4) a practical guide for stage directions; 5) a video of a teaching assistant reading the refrain for the children in the puppet play.
  • Book review : 'Academics’ international teaching journeys: personal narratives of transition in higher education', Anesa Hosein, Namrata Rao, Chloe Shu‐Hua Yeh, Ian M. Kinchin (Editors), Bloomsbury, 2018

    Kukhareva, Maria; University of Bedfordshire (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-10-18)
    Review of 'Academics’ international teaching journeys: personal narratives of transition in higher education' ,Anesa Hosein, Namrata Rao, Chloe Shu‐Hua Yeh, Ian M. Kinchin (Editors), Bloomsbury, 2018
  • Book review: 'The mini book of teaching tips for librarians' , 2nd Edition, Andrew Walsh, Innovative Libraries, 2018

    Lawrence, Anne; University of Bedfordshire (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-10-18)
    Review of 'The mini book of teaching tips for librarians' , 2nd Edition, Andrew Walsh, Innovative Libraries, 2018
  • Book review: 'The librarians’ book on teaching through games and play' , Andrew Walsh, Innovative Libraries, 2018

    Lawrence, Anne; University of Bedfordshire (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-10-18)
    Review of 'The librarians’ book on teaching through games and play' , Andrew Walsh, Innovative Libraries, 2018'
  • Zen and the art of classroom identity formation

    Lowry, Elizabeth; Arizona State University (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-09)
    This essay is an exploration of teacher identity and the discomfort that arises from the notion of the ‘professional self’ and the ‘personal self.’ Drawing on a range of scholarship that discusses the complexities of teacher‐identity construction, I consider how institutional hierarchies, Enlightenment‐era thought, and student perception affect our self‐construction in the classroom. Too often teachers try to live up to contradictory cultural ideals, which makes the process of professional self‐construction in the classroom even more complicated. As such, I explore the notion of teacher identity development from the perspectives of those starting out in the profession and as well as experienced educators. I argue that problem of teacher identity development does not necessarily come to end as an educator grows more experienced.
  • Holistic midwifery education for holistic midwives: reflecting on personal educational philosophy and pedagogy

    Madden, Bella; University of Bedfordshire (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-09-27)
    The following reflection articulates the genesis and development of my approach to Higher Education generally and midwifery education specifically over twenty years of teaching. It draws on the impact of my own experiences in HE as a student; the parallels between clinical and teaching practice, and the influence of a handful of key thinkers and texts that have helped me to elucidate the values that underpin my teaching practice. This is presented here as an explanation for the case studies that will follow which illustrate how the humanities can be integrated into classroom teaching in healthcare in ways that will deepen learning. What follows is an explanation for why I think this is important.
  • ‘In the real world….’ listening to ‘practitioner‐lecturer’ perspectives of the relevance in the business school curriculum

    Stoten, David William; University of Northumbria at Newcastle (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-09)
    This paper is concerned with eliciting the perspectives of ‘practitioner‐lecturers’ on the delivery of the employability curriculum within a Business School. The term ‘practitioner‐lecturer’ is taken to mean those who have entered academia following an earlier career in industry, the public services or a commercial environment. Given their past experiences and organisational socialisation, it may be that these academics hold different views on the nature of the employability debate. Hitherto, much of the discourse on employability has revolved around an instrumentalist debate concerning how to implement an idealised skill‐set that is meant to encapsulate the learning of students enrolled on a course. In this sense, students are re‐defined in terms of the set of skills they accrue and develop. This reductionist approach has led to calls for a more holistic conception of employability education‐ a viewpoint that may echo with practitioner‐lecturers with their wider experience of work beyond the ivory tower. This paper sought to address central research question: How do practitioner‐lecturers view the relevance of the Business School curriculum, given their professional insights? The findings suggest that the views of practitioner‐lecturers could be incorporated into the design of the future curriculum.
  • The idea of a teacher: paradigms of change

    Kona, Prakash; English and Foreign Languages University, India (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-09)
    The focus of the article is the ‘idea’ of a teacher; not just the proactive role teachers play in inculcating creative traits in students but the meaning of a teacher within an institution. Is the idea of a teacher a dated notion of a paternalistic figure playing the role of transmitter of values from a mainstream social order to students in classrooms who are relearning what has already been given to them within the confines of a home? Have teachers been made redundant in the era of Internet technologies where information along with critical interpretations have taken an impersonal character and students are less inclined to be influenced by one dominant way of thinking? Although information is democratized to include wider sections of people, there is no basis to subscribe to the notion that people are more open-minded than in earlier times. The argument applies to the idea of a teacher as well: while corporatization at a global level has reduced the role of a teacher to teaching what is useful in fulfilling the requirements of the free market, the resistance of students to tailored worldviews is greater than ever before. There are changing paradigms of the idea of a teacher while there are also paradigms of change that teachers could espouse to bring about social and political transformation. My paper deals with the dynamics of imagining such a transformation.
  • The nurse associate trainee deserves a HOTSHOT education: a reflective signature pedagogical approach

    Beckwith, Philip; University of Bedfordshire (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-08)
    Concerns were raised at the 2017 National Trainee Nurse Associate Conference. The Associate Nurse Work‐based Learning Signature Pedagogy creates constructive alignment to the work based learning units of the nurse associate programme and aims to address these concerns. However, attempts to locate a pedagogic approach for high quality learning and skills development have proved unsuccessful. Further exploration of Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy and Anderson & Karthwohl’s (2001) adaption of Bloom’s taxonomy have failed to align with Biggs’ (1999) model of constructive alignment and have led to the creation of the Higher Order Thinking and the Skills of Higher Order Thinking (HOTSHOT) taxonomy which redefines Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). Additionally, a move away from Socratic dialogue to reflection enabled the evolution of the signature pedagogy framework into a reflective signature pedagogy framework. The Associate Nurse Work‐based Learning Signature Pedagogy offers a solution to the concerns raised, based upon robust pedagogical theory.
  • Developing live projects as part of an assessment regime within a dispersed campus model

    Williams, Sarah; Kofinas, Alexander K.; Minett-Smith, Cathy; University of Bedfordshire (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-08)
    Our newly designed MSc unit, Sustainable Business Management (SBM), is designed to engage students in the real‐life practical application of sustainability at work. The authentic assessment uses a live project approach to develop and evaluate both the practical and academic skills needed to deliver sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the unit assessment needed to change beyond the original, intended design (March to December, 2016) and its first delivery (February to March, 2017) in order to accommodate the inclusion of a new transnational education partner delivering the unit synchronously. The use of video technology, weaved into a revised assessment design and adapted in an imaginative way, allowed for a localised delivery that retained the authenticity and creativity of the original assessment while ensuring the maintenance of academic standards.
  • Why do people become academics? a personal, reflective, account linking higher education & community development

    Derounian, James; University of Gloucestershire (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-08)
    Higher education is in a state of flux. With austerity challenging assumptions of a comfortable career path for academics. Many academics report pressure to perform across research and teaching. In this article the author addresses two questions – why do people become academics? And how, if at all, are university teaching, and community development connected? The research explored includes personal reflection; views on academic teaching from colleagues, plus those from academics at a number of UK universities. Amongst the findings is the fact that a number of responding UK academics expressed the view that they had stepped onto a ‘conveyor belt’ that led from positive undergraduate experience, eventually to an academic post. The findings also present a strong case for alignment and mutual reinforcement of higher education teaching and approaches to community engagement. The one nurtures the other. In this article my aim is to understand why academics in the 21st century choose their profession. During the 1970s I was lucky enough to be taught by the late Professor Gerald Wibberley at London University. ‘Wibb’, as he was affectionately known, was an inspiring practical academic, who seemed to enjoy teaching and research. If he were alive today, we would say he was steeped in understanding and acting to promote sustainability. In this he was years ahead of his time; and like the best academics he didn’t dodge difficult questions, and argued using evidence. Professor Wibberley had been strongly involved in developing UK agricultural policy for Government, but underwent a ‘conversion’; in that he became vocal about the ills of technologically‐driven farming – destruction of wildlife, decimation of jobs on the land and pollution. To illustrate his academic fearlessness, I remember, as an undergraduate, being captivated by his account of a run‐in with the National Farmers’ Union. At their annual conference he warned, ‘if you don’t behave, and mend your damaging practices, well…. think yourself lucky we live in a democracy because ‐ if we became a dictatorship ‐ they could take you outside, put you against a wall and shoot the lot of you’! He concluded with relish that as a result the audience had lined up to lynch him! His obituary in the Independent newspaper (Clayton, 1993) read: ‘His gift for public speaking was memorable…But he was at his most eloquent when gently berating a hostile audience for not seeing the folly of their views.’
  • Teaching online (book excerpt from a work in progress)

    Pitt, Tina Joy; Northcentral University (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-08)
    The way we facilitate learning in higher education has undergone change. No longer are we constrained by time and space (Erisman & Steele, 2015). In their report, Erisman & Steele find institutions of higher education serving a much larger population of returning adult learners for whom advanced degrees and certifications can provide a difference in their working and personal lives. In the current online learning environments, we no longer have as much flexibility over the instructional strategies we want to use. Content and activities are built through the use of readings, videos, reference websites, mandated discussions, selfreflection activities and structured assignments. Faculty are hired to teach through establishing a feedback working relationship with students. In building this relationship, the nature of how you communicate and work together changes. What may have been effective in a face‐to‐face learning environment may not work online. This adds a new dimension to how faculty do their jobs. You may ask how educators bring the richness and expertise normally added to learning environments into an established course that we probably did not create. To facilitate learning effectively, adding new skills to our teaching toolbox helps us make the best use of online learning environments. This article represents an opportunity to take what might feel like a sterile learning environment and build on your own teaching skills to become a more effective educator. You are the one who will support student learning and provide students with a quality learning experience based on the working relationship you build with your learners. Online teaching may sound like a lot more work. It is not. You are working differently and hopefully after reading this article, working more effectively.
  • Peer review activity and a search‐engine based corpus system

    Cheung, Yin Ling; Nanyang Technological University (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-08)
    For the past two decades, we have witnessed a number of peer review research studies in both first and second/foreign language writing classrooms. Few studies, however, have been done to build a custom search‐engine based corpus system that performs searches on relevant texts for academic writing tasks, such as peer review activity. The study investigates students’ perception of the peer feedback task using a search‐engine based corpus system called Word Engine. The participants were 322 first‐year undergraduates across disciplines who took an academic writing course at a large public university in Singapore. Data were collected from background questionnaires about the participants, peer reviews on first drafts of the students’ papers, and students’ final papers after incorporating feedback from the peer review. Findings showed that students believed that peer feedback activity was useful. They made revisions on various aspects including discussion of results, the development of ideas, macro‐rhetorical goal of the paper, and the use of academic language such as hedges. Students used Word Engine because it excluded all nonacademic websites. The study contributes to the field of academic writing and corpus linguistics, particularly how peer feedback with the use of Word Engine can promote student autonomy in learning.
  • Does a ‘flipped classroom’ approach add learning value?

    Clifford, Kelly; University of Bedfordshire (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-08)
    This paper is the record of an action research project. The purpose of this action research project was to evaluate the effect of a flipped classroom technique on preregistration nursing students. The aim was to ascertain if this was a preferred method of teaching to facilitate more practical sessions in class. Feedback from local student surveys indicated that there was a need for more practical sessions in class for both theoretical clarity and for assessment preparation. Qualitative data via a survey was used to gauge the student’s perception of methods of differing classroom delivery and a free text box enabled students to voice what session they felt this method was applicable to for future classes. Results showed that the students acknowledged the benefit of having theory of sessions prior to coming to class so that this can be applied to the practical session. Students found value in the flipped classroom approach as a way of supporting and enhancing practical in‐class sessions. This was validated further by the students’ suggestions of where to further apply this method within the unit.
  • A truly ‘transformative’ MBA: executive education for the fourth Industrial Revolution

    Barber, Stephen; University of Bedfordshire (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-08)
    The world over, universities describe their Masters of Business Administrations as ‘transformative’ but so many rely on traditional retrospective curriculums, structures and assessment. The suspicion in some quarters is that the MBA badge has sometimes become more about prestige than transformation; inputs rather than outputs. Yet it is increasingly clear that the global economy is at a turning point with the World Economic Forum going as far as describing the advent of a Fourth Industrial Revolution. Technology in particular is changing the nature of work and the role of managers while the nature of jobs and the skills that will be needed in the near future is in flux. Organisational success increasingly relies on creative and adaptable colleagues able to lead and shape change; here innovative executive education has an essential role to play. A discussion paper centred on these topics, this article makes the case for MBAs to be truly transformative by shifting the emphasis firmly towards intellectual creativity and problem solving, together with innovative assessment regimes which challenge mid‐career professionals to be adaptable and able to take managed risks supportive of professional innovation. It argues the case for a breed of MBAs that are not retrospective and elitist but rather are driven by the transformative ambition of developing participants’ cognitive powers.
  • Lecture capture: reflections on pedagogy vs. perception

    Crawford, Russell; Keele University (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-08)
    I have been sitting on this piece of writing for a while now. Partially due to time factors but mostly due to how these thoughts might be interpreted, or rather misinterpreted, given the current HE sector trends. I originally intended this piece to help inform close colleagues from different disciplinary contexts about the pedagogy underpinning lecture capture technologies, but it occurred that this was a conversation that was worth having in a wider forum. There is a wide selection of papers that look at student perception of lecture capture but evaluation strategies rarely include front‐line teaching staffs’ opinions (Sim, 2018). I use the qualifier ‘front‐line’ because where staff are concerned, lecture capture seems to form a nexus around which teachers and managers differ in opinion. These opinions seem to depend on individual drivers of success and excellence. I should state up front that I am lecture capture neutral, meaning that I think of it as a tool and, as with all tools, if you use it well, it works, and if you do not, it does not. I thought it was time to share my views in the hope that colleagues can use these points to better inform their use of this divisive learning technology.
  • Book review: Learner‐centred pedagogy: principles and practice, Kevin Michael Klipfel & Dani Brecher Cook (Facet Publishing, 2017)

    Lawrence, Anne; University of Bedfordshire (University of Bedfordshire, 2018-08)
    Review of "Learner‐centred Pedagogy: Principles and Practice", Kevin Michael Klipfel & Dani Brecher Cook, Facet Publishing, 2017

View more