Eiichi Taniguchi, Russell G Thompson, Tadashi Yamada and Ron Van Duin
Allison Earl, Robert VanWynsberghe, Pierre Walter and Timothy Straka
This paper aims to present an interpretive case study in education for sustainability (EfS) that applies VanWynsberghe and Herman’s (2015, 2016) adaptive education as pedagogy…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present an interpretive case study in education for sustainability (EfS) that applies VanWynsberghe and Herman’s (2015, 2016) adaptive education as pedagogy. Dewey’s theory of behaviour change is applied to educative experiences based on habit disruption and real-world learning, leading to creativity in the formation of new habits. The programme presented inverts dominant conceptions of knowledge to design innovative sustainability pedagogy. Instead knowledge resides alongside experience, cases, intuition, advice, experimentation and dialogue in the individual and collective effort to address daily sustainability challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports on the outcomes of an interpretive case study (Merriam, 1998) of a higher education programme in sustainability pedagogy. It presents a series of reflections by instructors and participants in discussing the programme’s relationship with the core themes of habit, disruption, creative action and dialogue framed within the five features of adaptive education: stakeholders, real-world learning, off campus, transdisciplinarity and non-traditional rewards.
Findings
Through this examination, the authors found that adaptive education offered a pedagogy that simultaneously addressed the need for increased sustainability knowledge, whilst inverting its dominance. As a long-term project, the extent of the programme’s impact will be evident beyond the programme’s completion.
Research limitations/implications
This interpretive case study is analysed through high-level conceptual and theoretical aspects of the pedagogy rather than the particularities of the case. By putting the centrality of knowledge into question, the authors are advocating for a more experimental role for higher education in its teaching and learning. These questions are broadly applicable.
Social implications
There are research, learning and social benefits to this programme. Adaptive education builds capacity for future leaders and educators of sustainability.
Originality/value
The paper concludes with a discussion for further theorizing and research on adaptive education and EfS in higher education. This research will contribute to broader discussions of the evolving role of education in sustainability.
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The revelations that have been made concerning the insanitary conditions under which large quantities of important food products are prepared in the United States for consumption…
Abstract
The revelations that have been made concerning the insanitary conditions under which large quantities of important food products are prepared in the United States for consumption in this country have attracted, for the time being, the attention that the subject deserves.
This commentary suggests areas that could be further developed in Reiter-Palmon, Herman, and Yammarino's call for a multi-level analysis of the underlying cognitive structures of…
Abstract
This commentary suggests areas that could be further developed in Reiter-Palmon, Herman, and Yammarino's call for a multi-level analysis of the underlying cognitive structures of both teams and individuals. The chapter by Reiter-Palmon, Herman, and Yammarino effectively demonstrates the importance of cognition in the understanding of individual and team creativity. However, the importance of other issues – in particular, team process and composition – also needs to be more fully considered when moving from the individual level to the team level. This commentary addresses the conceptual challenge of attempting to take a purely cognitive approach for teams, and presents some further arguments for considering how team process and composition influence team cognition and ultimately team creative problem solving. It also discusses the value of using some type of team intervention to enhance team creative problem-solving processes. Finally, it argues for the importance of considering the dynamic nature of some teams and examining how changes in team membership can affect team cognition.
Clovia Hamilton and David Schumann
With respect to university technology transfer, the purpose of this paper is to examine the literature focused on the relationship between university research faculty and…
Abstract
With respect to university technology transfer, the purpose of this paper is to examine the literature focused on the relationship between university research faculty and technology transfer office staff. We attempt to provide greater understanding of how research faculty’s personal values and research universities’ organization values may differ and why. Faculty researchers and tech transfer office (TTO) staff are perceived to be virtuous agents. When both are meeting each other’s needs, a “love” relationship exists. However, when these needs are not met, a “hate” relationship exists that is replete with doubt and uncertainty. This doubt and uncertainty creates tension and subsequent conflicts. There are many accounts where faculty researchers have not followed university policies and expectations, often violating policy and ethical standards. Likewise, faculty report numerous examples of how TTO staff members’ negligence in servicing their attempts to be good institutional citizens have failed them. This paper explores this love/hate relationship and reveals numerous conflicts that call into question ethical concerns. It also provides a set of recommendations for reducing and potentially alleviating these concerns. Literature review. Results from a thorough review of the literature on the relationship between faculty and university TTOs reveals that perceived job insecurity is the primary reason that some research faculty members as well as some TTO staff, unethically violate their university policy to disclose invention disclosures and select to not provide full services, respectively. One way to alleviate the conflict between faculty’s personal values regarding their inventions and university’s organizational values is to enact measures that build trust and reduce insecurity among faculty members and TTO staff. In this paper, we not only examine this faculty/TTO staff ethical conflicts, but we offer a set of recommendations that we believe will reduce the likelihood of unethical behavior while encouraging greater institutional commitment and trust.
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One of the most widely accepted goals of social studies education is to produce knowledgeable and caring citizens. It is, therefore, imperative that students have the opportunity…
Abstract
One of the most widely accepted goals of social studies education is to produce knowledgeable and caring citizens. It is, therefore, imperative that students have the opportunity to participate in public issues and have a meaningful voice within their community. Students must learn how to gather information, solve problems and make civic decisions (Saxe, D. W. (1997). The distinctive mission of social studies education. In E. W. Ross (Ed.), The social studies curriculum: Purposes, problems and possibilities (pp. 39–55). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press). Thus, educators and staff in higher education institutions should encourage their students to create their own questions, cultivate investigative strategies, formulate theories and apply new concepts to their own lives in a variety of methods (Fitzsimmons, P. F., & Goldhaber, J. (1997). Siphons, pumps, and missile launchers: Inquiry at the further and higher education [online]. Edinburgh: Scottish Funding Council). Inquiry-based instruction is a pedagogical strategy that places the educator in the role of a facilitator where students are pushed to think critically and construct meaningful knowledge. Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is a crucial practice for students to grasp and the earlier they are exposed to this style of learning, the better the educational results will be in regard to cognitive development. For instance, (Frederiksen, White, & Shimoda, 1999) found that students who take part in inquiry-based learning outperform those students in traditional classrooms on standardised assessments. This chapter explores a theoretical discussion of IBL and a subsequent theory of change focusing on the potential desired impact on the student learning experience in Irish higher education.
The core themes include the following:
How educators in the social sciences conceptualise, design and facilitate IBL?
The location and commencement of the development of an IBL ‘mind-set’.
Informal theories of change in the social sciences, and a discussion on disciplinary patterns and the discernation of differences.
What have educators learned about designing and facilitating IBL? The challenges of designing and facilitating IBL, in the social sciences.
Plans for further developing IBL practice in an international context.
How educators in the social sciences conceptualise, design and facilitate IBL?
The location and commencement of the development of an IBL ‘mind-set’.
Informal theories of change in the social sciences, and a discussion on disciplinary patterns and the discernation of differences.
What have educators learned about designing and facilitating IBL? The challenges of designing and facilitating IBL, in the social sciences.
Plans for further developing IBL practice in an international context.
Claudia A. Sacramento, Jeremy F. Dawson and Michael A. West
Reiter-Palmon, Herman, and Yammarino (this volume) put forward a series of useful propositions about the nature of team creativity, its connection with individual creativity and…
Abstract
Reiter-Palmon, Herman, and Yammarino (this volume) put forward a series of useful propositions about the nature of team creativity, its connection with individual creativity and cognitive processes, and its antecedents. This commentary highlights some issues raised by these propositions, and explores the emergence of team creativity in greater depth. In particular, it discusses existing principles of multi-level theory and measurement, and considers how they might be applied to team creativity. We conclude that there is no single unified way to treat the concept of team creativity, but just as the antecedents of creativity may change in different situations, so may the way in which the construct is defined.