The University of the West Indies

May 11, 2016

 

In the annual revision of the programme, six Social Sciences teacher educators explored the experiences of their teacher-participants to ascertain whether such experiences were aligned with the objectives of the Social Sciences curriculum sessions. Through the interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA), the researchers collaboratively explored the views on how 14 teacher-participants, who volunteered to take part in the research, experienced the programme. Using a semi-structured interview protocol, two focus group interviews were conducted simultaneously at the end of the programme. Interviews were transcribed by the teacher educators who also met as a team to undertake the coding exercise done inductively through the application of the constant comparison method of Glaser and Strauss (1967) to arrive at the themes. The findings show that teachers’ experiences were aligned with the session objectives especially with respect to learnings on the nature of their discipline, developing skills for teaching diverse learners, becoming responsible for self-development as teachers. Such learnings seem to indicate a positive change in praxis and professional identity. The recommendations made would lead to a review of the session objectives for the Teaching of Social Sciences in the Dip. Ed. programme for future cohorts.

 

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Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon and Sean Balkissoon
November 1, 2014

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. 

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Kara Enightoola
November 1, 2014

E-learning is the use of information and communications technologies to support teaching and learning. This study sought to determine students’ attitudes toward e-learning as it is used at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. Garrison’s (2000) Community of Inquiry model was used to evaluate how students viewed teaching presence, cognitive presence and social presence impacting on their satisfaction and learning outcomes. This research used a mixed-methods approach and used factor analysis, structured equation modelling and thematic content analysis. The findings indicate a statistically significant relationship between the dependent and independent variables in three hypotheses relating to satisfaction and two hypotheses relating to learning.

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Jorge Luis Morejón
November 1, 2014

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.

 

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UWI Conducts First Telemedicine Broadcast Across Three Campuses

The first telemedicine broadcast by the University of the West Indies, UWI, using the region's only dedicated research and education network, CaribNet, was conducted on Wednesday November 6, 2013. The telecast originated from the Hugh Wynter Fertility Management Unit (HWFMU) at the Mona Campus and was broadcast to medical students and faculty at the Open Campus sites in Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados. The HWFMU has been a hub for the promotion and advancement of Sexual and Reproductive Health (S&RH) for the past 30 years.
 

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