The University of the West Indies

This paper reports on the challenges and benefits experienced by undergraduate Production and Operations Management students who were required to develop their own WebQuests focused on one topic within the course scope. The research evaluates how student attitudes/perceptions, experiences and learning were affected as a result of their exposure to the development of a WebQuest. The project was a departure from typical WebQuest applications in that it is usually preservice or in-service teachers who are required to develop their own WebQuests. Student groups were asked to select a topic from the course syllabus and develop a WebQuest which they would share with the class. Students had high initial resistance to the project, but by the end of the course, many students reported satisfaction with the depth and breadth of exposure, entertainment and variety that supplemented in-class coverage, materials to aid revision for final exams, improved time management and teamwork capabilities, enhanced information technology competencies, improved research skills, and a newfound confidence and excitement about learning. Furthermore, based on student self-reports it appears that the project also supported the development of several university defined distinctive graduate competencies. The paper’s recommendations include measures to promote exploration of additional non-traditional elearning modalities as substantial benefit could be derived by all involved. 

This study considers the implementation of the arts, particularly dance, across higher education curricula as a way to improve communication between fields of study and professional environments. Thus, the paper suggests the creation of ateliers, dance studios and/or multipurpose activity centres to allow the academic community, lecturers and students alike, to create a space for art, the humanities, science and technology to merge through collaborative projects. The study uses the art of dance as a theoretical basis to reflect upon the proposed changes in higher education paradigms in order to improve students’ educational experience.

The sources referenced allow for the examination of the data available on scientific research in the arts in relation to the Science of Learning. Based on the results of the comparative analysis of brain activation patterns, it might be suggested that a more effective network of cognitive processing takes place in the brain of the artist than in the brain of a regular human being. The study concludes that the arts and dance in particular, enhance learning, since the arts improve thinking ability, development of self-esteem and confidence and higher order skills as well as cognitive, affective, and kinaesthetic domains of learning.