Journal articles on the topic 'Innovative instructional programme'

Abstract Currently, the ‘time’ variable has taken on the function of instructional and pedagogical innovation catalyst, after representing-over the years-a symbol of democratisation, learning opportunity and instruction quality, able to incorporate themes such as school dropout, personalisation and vocation into learning. Spaced Learning is a teaching methodology useful to quickly seize information in long-term memory based on a particular arrangement of the lesson time that comprises three input sessions and two intervals. Herein we refer to a teachers’ training initiative on Spaced Learning within the programme ‘DocentiInFormAzione’ in the EDOC@WORK3.0 Project in Apulia region in 2015. The training experience aimed at increasing teachers’ competencies in the Spaced Learning method implemented in a context of collaborative reflection and reciprocal enrichment. The intent of the article is to show how a process of rooting of the same culture of innovation, which opens to the discovery (or rediscovery) of effective teaching practices sustained by scientific evidences, can be successfully implemented and to understand how or whether this innovation- based on the particular organisation of instructional time-links learning awareness to learning outcomes.

Abstract The aim of the article is to get a closer overview of the non-instructional methods of the teaching-learning process of geography. To achieve this goal, the results of the international project Borderland: Border Landscapes Across Europe (undertaken in 2012 and 2013, within the framework of LLP-Erasmus Programme) was presented. Special attention was paid on the innovative approach to learning methods, namely learning by doing (LBD) that was experienced in a multinational environment during the project’s implementation.

The intent of this research is to assess the implementation state of entrepreneurship programme and its influence in developing entrepreneurship key competencies among undergraduate students. The survey design was employed for the research. A total population of 8,101 undergraduate students from University of Benin was used. A sample of 382 undergraduate students was used for the research. A structured questionnaire, validated by two experts was used for the data collection. The Cronbach alpha statistical method was employed to determine the reliability of the instrument, which yielded the coefficient alpha value of 0.87. Twenty items questionnaire was administered to the respondents with the help of two trained research assistants. The data were analyzed using the mean, standard deviation, and t-test statistics. The research revealed that entrepreneurship programme is not properly implemented particularly at the university level. It also revealed that students are not well-equipped with entrepreneurship key competencies such as creative and innovative skills that would have helped them in starting and running their own business. It also revealed that there was no significant difference between the mean responses of Science and Arts/Humanity-based students regarding the implementation state of entrepreneurship programme. It further revealed that there was no significant difference between the mean responses of Science and Arts/Humanity-based students regarding the extent to which entrepreneurship programme has equipped students with creative and innovative skills. Consequently, the authors drew a useful conclusion for the subject matter. Providing sufficient amount of financial resources, involving employers of labour, sourcing for qualified teaching and non-teaching personnel, procuring the state-of-the-art infrastructural facilities, as well as utilizing appropriate instructional methods, that would help in equipping students with creative and innovative skills for starting and operating their own businesses were further recommended. Keywords: creative skills, entrepreneurship education, innovative skills, operating business, starting business, unemployment situation.

From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, agriculture educators began to use research as a way of verifying, creating, disseminating and applying new knowledge. However, existing literature is inconclusive on research themes covered and yet to be covered in Agricultural Education in Eswatini. Thus, this study sought to identify themes and gaps for future research in Agricultural Education in Eswatini. This was a qualitative study employing desk review in data collection. Trustworthiness of the content analysis guide was ensured through the use of experts from the Department of Agricultural Education and Extension (AEE) at the University of Eswatini (UNESWA). Data analysis was performed using frequencies and percentages. Findings of the study revealed that in Agricultural Education, gaps existed in the following thematic areas: primary themes - programme delivery methodologies and curriculum programme planning; and secondary themes- creative thinking and problem-solving; innovative instructional technologies; teaching basic and academic skills; professional staff development; educational methodologies for teaching and learning; professional preparation and competence; and needs of future agricultural workforce. The study concluded that research conducted in Agricultural Education in Eswatini is imbalanced in both primary and secondary research themes. Therefore, the Department of AEE at UNESWA must establish a research agenda to ensure that the research conducted is thematically balanced. Keywords: Agricultural Education, primary themes, research project, research thematic areas, secondary themes, University of Eswatini

Abstract Recent years have witnessed an increase in research focused on studying on perspectives of Chinese mathematics instructions. The sustained interest is partly due to the outstanding performances of Chinese students in international studies such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) (Mullis, et al., 2012) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2010); and partly due to the shared interest in comparative studies of instructional practice across different cultural systems. What have we learned about in mathematics classrooms from international studies? Findings of international studies suggest that how the teacher used the tasks so that the cognitive demand of the learning tasks could be sustained is very important. Despite the good performances of Hong Kong students in international studies, there is a gap between traditional classroom practice and the long established goals for promoting generic capacity in mathematics learning; most of the traditional learning tasks in Hong Kong classrooms are apparently routine and serving a demonstrative purpose as a result of the highly competitive systems. Based on triangulation of the findings of the analysis of the mathematics lessons at different levels, the study shown some robust features in the traditional mathematics teaching practice in Hong Kong classrooms in contrast to some innovative scenarios in a special mathematics lesson. Finally, the author re-examines the robust features in the context of curriculum reforms and the cultural context of Confucian tradition.

This short paper outlines the design and development of a multi-phase, cross-institution Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) program that was conceived by educational developers from five higher educational institutions in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The initiative is grounded in the belief that implementing the ISW program in the Halifax Regional Municipal (HRM) area will foster a local community of practice and further cross-institutional initiatives focused on enhancing teaching and learning approaches. This paper offers a brief historical background and rationale of the ISW program, and details of implementation. In addition, the lead coordinators share their reflections on the challenges and implications resulting from the process of adapting this established program to fit an innovative and mutually supportive cross-institutional design within the HRM. Ce court article présente la conception et l’élaboration d’Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW), un programme interétablissement en plusieurs phases qui a été conçu par des concepteurs pédagogiques provenant de cinq établissements d’enseignement supérieur d’Halifax, en Nouvelle-Écosse. L’initiative repose sur l’idée que la mise en œuvre d’ISW dans la municipalité régionale d’Halifax encouragera le développement d’une communauté de pratique et de projets interétablissements visant à améliorer les approches d’enseignement et d’apprentissage. Nous présentons brièvement l’histoire et les raisons au fondement de l’ISW ainsi que les détails de sa mise en œuvre. De plus, les coordonnateurs en chef réfléchissent aux difficultés et aux conséquences du processus d’adaptation de ce programme bien établi au concept interétablissement novateur et solidaire au sein de la municipalité régionale d’Halifax.

Purpose A critical attribute of open educational practices (OEP) is the pursuit of open scholarship which comprises the release of educational resources under an open licence scheme that permits no-cost access, use, reuse, adaptation, retention and redistribution to others. The degree of openness in relation to this attribute will depend on the context and culture of the place and the people in it. When left to chance, the adoption and practice of open scholarship by educators is at best sketchy. For optimum impact, a design-based approach is essential. A central focus of such an approach will need to target educators’ belief systems and practices about their scholarship. Any such work will involve researchers collaborating with practitioners in real-life settings to improve educational practices through iterative analysis, design, development and implementation. The purpose of this paper is to report on how the development and use of such a design-based approach, implemented by the Open University of Sri Lanka, impacted the adoption and uptake of open scholarship among teachers in the Sri Lankan school system in terms of changes in their use of instructional resources, pedagogical thinking and pedagogical practices. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a design-based research (DBR) approach (Reeves, 2006), which involved researchers collaboratively working with practitioners in real-life settings to improve their educational practices along three aspects – instructional resource use, pedagogical perspectives and pedagogical practices. Based on the four stages of the DBR approach – analysis, solution, testing and refinement, and reflection, a professional development intervention programme was designed and implemented to support teachers on the integration of open educational resources (OER) and adoption of OEP in their teaching-learning process. Data collected throughout the process using multiple strategies such as questionnaire surveys, concept mapping, lesson plans, focus group interviews, self-reflections and “stories”, were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Findings By the end of the intervention, significant changes were observed in teachers’ use of instructional resources, their pedagogical thinking and pedagogical practices. While resource usage has shifted from no or low usage of OER to reuse, revise, remix and creation of OER, the pedagogical thinking and practices of teachers moved from a content-centric and individualized patterns to more constructivist, context centric and collaborative ways. The diffusion of OEP was prominent along two dimensions – enhancements in the individual practices in innovative OER use as well as collaborative practices of sharing of resources, knowledge and good practices. Practical implications The systematic and flexible methodology adopted based on the DBR approach via a framework designed as a contextualized, process oriented and a self-reflective enquiry has been very useful to support changes in OEP among practitioners over time. Originality/value This iterative process allowed the researchers to function as “designers”, while investigating real-life issues in collaboration with the practitioners through reflective enquiry to further refine innovative practices towards OEP. This provides valuable insights for improved design solutions for future interventions in similar contexts.

It is the great honor for us to edit proceedings of “10th World Conference on Learning, Teaching and Educational Leadership (WCLTA-2019)” held on 01-03 November, at the Novotel Conference Center Athens –Greece. This privileged scientific event has contributed to the field of educational sciences and research for ten years. As the guest editors of this issue, we are glad to see variety of articles focusing on the Active Learning, Administration of Education, Adult Education, Affective Learning, Arts Teaching, Asynchronous Learning, Behaviorist Learning, Biology Education, Blended Learning, Chemistry Education, Classroom Assessment, Classroom Management, Classroom Teacher Education, Collaborative Learning, College and Higher Education, Constructivist Learning, Content Development, Counseling Underperformers, Course and Programme Evaluation, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Development, Curriculum and Instruction, Democracy Education, Desktop Sharing, Developmental Psychology, Digital Content, Creation, Preservation and Delivery, Distance Learning, E-administration, E-assessment, Education and Culture, Educational Administration, Educational Technology, E-learning, E-Learning Strategies, E-Library and Learning Resources, Embedding Soft Skills in Curriculum Development, Enhancing and Integrating Employability, Environmental Education, ESL Education, E-teaching, Evaluation of e- Learning Technologies, Evaluation of Student Satisfaction, Faculty Development and Support, Future Learning Trends and Globalization, Gaming, Simulation and, Virtual Worlds, Guiding and Counseling, Healthy Education, High School Teacher Education, History Education, Human Resources in Education, Human Resources Management, Human Rights Education, Humanistic Learning, Information Literacy Support for Teaching, Learning and Assessment, Innovation and Changing in Education, Innovations in e-Assessment, Innovative Teaching Strategies, Institutional Audit and Quality Assurance, Institutional Performance, Instructional Design, Instructional Design,, Knowledge Management in Education, Language Learning and Teaching, Language Teacher Education, Learner Centered Strategies, Learners Diversity, Inclusiveness and Inequality, Learning and Teaching Research Methods, Learning Assessment and Evaluation, Learning Disabilities, Learning Psychology, Learning Skills, Learning Theories, Lifelong Learning Strategies, Mathematics Learning and Teaching, Measurement and Evaluation in Education, Middle School Teacher Education, Mobile Learning, Multi-cultural Education, Multiple Intelligences, Music Learning and Teaching, New Learning Environments, New Learning Web Technologies, Nursery Education, Outcome-based Education, Performance Assessment, Physics Education, Portfolio Assessment, Pre-school Education, Primary School Education, Professional Development, School Administration, Science Education, Science Teaching, Social Networking and Interactive, Participatory Applications and Services, Social Sciences Teaching, Special Education, Sport and Physical Education, Strategic Alliances, Collaborations and Partnerships, Student Diversity, Student Motivation, Supporting Students Experience, Table of Specifications, Teacher skills, Teacher Training, Technology and the Learning Environment, Virtual Classroom Management, Vocational Education, Web Conferencing and etc. Furthermore, the conference is getting more international each year, which is an indicator that it is getting worldwide known and recognized. Scholars from all over the world contributed to the conference. Special thanks are to all the reviewers, the members of the international editorial board, the publisher, and those involved in technical processes. We would like to thank all who contributed to in every process to make this issue actualized. A total of 82 full papers or abstracts were submitted for this conference and each paper has been peer reviewed by the reviewers specialized in the related field. At the end of the review process, a total of 26 high quality research papers were selected and accepted for publication. I hope that you will enjoy reading the papers. Guest Editors Prof. Dr. Jesús Garcia Laborda, University of Alcala, Spain Editorial Assistant Zeynep Genc, Phd. Istanbul Aydin University, Istanbul, Turkey

In the undergraduate physics laboratory, a student is expected to make precise measurements, hone investigative skills and discover the interplay between experimentation and fundamental principles underlying physical phenomena. But in India, the mainstream conventional UG physics laboratory instruction has all along been cookbook in nature. In such a scenario, incorporating innovative and meaningful laboratory experience in Open and Distance Education programmes becomes a formidable challenge. Recently we evaluated the physics laboratory courses, which are integral to the B.Sc (Physics) programme of IGNOU offered at a distance, for their quality, relevance and effectiveness. Our findings reveal that these courses are being received well particularly by those students who are pursuing the B.Sc (Major) in Physics. The success rates improve as learners evolve in the system and their satisfaction levels are high. However, factor analysis of learners' perceptions brings forth six factors guided approach, student-centered learning and assessment, emphasis on self-learning, use of multimedia and innovative non-conventional teaching strategies, increased student participation and emphasis on problem solving as key determinants for further improving the quality of learning in physics laboratory.

Purpose – Distance learning (DL) programmes are becoming increasingly popular in higher education. Overcoming feelings of isolation that may occur due to the reduced support available, the few possibilities of social interaction and the non-existent campus atmosphere in online courses, have become one of the major challenges of designers and instructors of DL programmes. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides an example of how the authors can create and use virtual world (VW) learning spaces that not only match the face-to-face learning experience, but also enhance it. Innovation@UWE Island in Second Life, home of the MA education in virtual worlds, is an example of pedagogical innovation that capitalises on what VWs have to offer to social aspects of teaching and learning. In this programme the authors use a three-dimensional virtual space to provide postgraduate students – physically located in diverse geographical areas of the world – with a sense of community and connectedness that matches the sense of belonging that often accompanies the on-campus learning experience. Findings – The paper provides examples of students engaging in an environment where traditional conceptions of both “teaching” and “learning” do not apply, where the four-walled classroom is not the only setting where learning happens, where everyone in the group can potentially be an instructor or a peer, an expert or a novice, and learn from each other in a meaningful way. Originality/value – This paper introduces the rationale behind the choice of architecture of the learning environment as well as the instructional design of the programme to enhance co-presence and place presence, to build a true community of practice and to foster collaboration for reflective learning.

During the 1980s, innovative use of technology was equated with microcomputer instruction. In the 1990s, a different kind of technology—videodisc instruction—has great potential for application in secondary special education. By examining its day-to-day use in naturalistic settings, this study builds on previous research with a specific videodisc program in fractions. Participants were seven secondary teachers of students with learning disabilities. Researchers measured the program's level of implementation, teacher reactions, and student achievement. Results were generally positive in all areas, with a surprisingly high acceptance of the program by the seven teachers.

This paper analyses all of the activities carried out by CETREL to establish its Environmental Management System - EMS. This system encompasses all of CETREL's environmental protection efforts: treatment of industrial effluents and residues; environmental monitoring (soil, air, groundwater, rivers and the sea); wildlife preservation programme, environmental education programme, among other activities. CETREL's EMS is a mid-sized system consisting of nearly 425 Instruments (244 Procedures and 181 Work Instructions). The size of the system was selected based on British Standard BS-7750, which provides the principal tools that will allow the organisation to continually maximise beneficial environmental effects while minimising adverse environmental effects. Since the EMS in question is a voluntary one, the result of initiatives taken by CETREL itself, the system's design and architecture were chosen so that the Company's environmental standards would be more stringent than those in the environmental legislation, that is, stricter than the government-mandated environmental requirements.

This special issue of Industry and Higher Education is devoted to a selection of papers on the theme ‘Producing the rounded and innovative graduate – case studies of successful programmes’. The papers, reviewed and revised for publication, were presented at the Seventh International Conference on New Horizons in Industry, Business and Education held on the island of Chios, Greece, in August 2011. This introductory paper provides an overview of the conference, summarizes the most important presentations and offers some reflections on the conference outcomes. The key objective of NHIBE 2011 was to identify the impact of new technologies on education, industry and business. Special attention was given to innovative approaches and experiences developed in education in an effort to adapt teaching methods to the new technological era; and a special session was dedicated to graduate students. There was also a Workshop on PIT (Project/Internship Instruction Type) – ‘Views of the Project/Internship Instruction Type’ – organized by Professor Nuno Escudeiro. The major subject streams at the conference were: Education Strategies, New Educational Methods, Industry and Education, Science and Education, Entrepreneurship, Corporate Finance and Governance, and Business Strategies. This introductory paper to this issue of Industry and Higher Education focuses on Education Strategies, New Educational Methods, Industry and Education, Science and Education, Entrepreneurship and the PIT Workshop.

The Quality of education depends to a great extent on thequality of teachers. It is a known fact that quality teachers optfor an innovation in their teaching aspect through integratingtechnology in the classroom instruction to give the best tostudents. Since technology is a powerful tool for problem –solving, conceptual development and critical thinking help tomake the learning process much easier for the students. To beeffective in the classroom instruction, teachers should acquirethe knowledge and skills to use the new challenges inpromoting innovative teaching strategies that are studentcentered,collaborative, engaging, authentic, self-directed andbased on the development of higher order thinking skills withrespect to handling classes for students which aim to achievehigh academic standards.Today learning is approached as a constructive, self-regulated,and cooperative to meet the individual difference andtechnology-oriented process. In these approaches a strongemphasis is placed on the learner as an active agent in theknowledge acquisition process. This view on learning andinstruction is in contrast with the ‗Objectivistic‘ viewpoint inwhich information provided by, for example, a teacher ismore or less directly transferred to the learner. In theconstructive viewpoint, the teacher plays a more facilitativerole, supporting learners in a self-directed, constructivelearning process. Developments in the objectivistic traditionwere encouraged by the availability of computer-basedlearning environments that were in line with this approach,such as programmed instruction, tutorials, drill-and-practiceprograms. Also within the constructivist approach we findcomputer-learning environments that help to advancedevelopments

In today’s constantly evolving fast-paced world, the field of education has witnessed a variety of innovative and rigorous trends such as life-long learning, technological capabilities, inquiry-based instruction, SDGs lesson plans, global education and international schools. The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into teaching literary works in the IBDP (International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme) through the lens of global issues, a pathway to establish understanding and competencies for students in the coming decades. With that aim in mind, the paper is divided into three main ideas: global trends and issues in general education and teaching literature in particular; opportunities and challenges when teaching literature through the lens of global issues to Vietnamese students in international schools; and a case study of teaching Phan Thi Vang Anh’s short stories in the close relationship with the world problems. The results of this exploratory research will shed light on an innovate approach in literature teaching strategies and assessment techniques in close relationship with world issues and its potential application in an authentic Vietnamese classroom.

This research aims to figure out the facts of the objective conditions of the curriculum implementation at Tarbiyah Faculty IAIN Raden Fatah Palembang. The curriculum evaluation used the Evaluation Programme for Innovative Curriculum (EPIC) Model, consisting of three components namely: 1) instruction, 2) institutional, and 3) learning achievement. This research used an evaluative programme to make judgments and decisions of a programme or curriculum. The evaluation results for these three components are: (1) instruction: learning burdens and lecturers’ quality are good, but there are still many errors in the presentation, coding, credits of institutional courses, faculty courses, and study program courses, low in task variation, low in the number of hours of meetings, many mistakes in curriculum structure, and low in facilities and infrastructure, (2) institutional: entrance tests for the students of Tarbiyah Faculty IAIN Raden Fatah do not include aptitude tests, lecturers who have magister qualification is good, but low on doctoral qualification, and ratio between lecturers to students is not ideal, (3) learning achievement: students’ mastery of teaching skills and attitudes is good, but very low in the mastery of pedagogical skills and teacher education. Recommendations of this research are 1) revise curriculum, 2) use the aptitude test to select new students, 3) increase academic qualifications of lecturers, and 4) revise comprehensive examination system.

The article is devoted to the problem of innovative pedagogical teaching technologies, implemented in the institutions of higher education, namely their content and characteristics. Analysing the problem, it was found that the term «educational technologies» is very common in science and education, and there are different approaches to its determination. The author of the article defines that «educational technologies» can be represented in three aspects, namely: scientific-methodological and descriptive, processual effective. It is noted in the article that, determining the structure of the category of «educational technologies», the scientists refer to its conceptual part, substantive, procedural and methodological and software support; they have singled out the basic methodological principles and criteria to be met by educational technologies. It is also noted in the article that the technical information technologies develop the idea of a programmed instruction associated with the unique capabilities of modern computers and telecommunications. The main goal of modern information technologies study is to prepare students for a full life in the informational society. The leading principles, as the basis for educational technologies introduction to higher educational institutions, are: the principle of orientation clearly and thoroughly defined goals; the principle of chosen training; the principle of subjectivity training; the principle of variability study; the pedagogical competence principle; the principle of professional similarities and borrowings; the principle of corresponding human nature. The author of the article defined that the methods of NIT training suppose: a traditional learning model; an alternative learning model. The modern educational technologies are discussed in the article and it gives the reason to believe that now they develop the idea of programmed study, which is associated with the unique capabilities of modern computers and telecommunications. The author of the article makes a conclusion that studies of many authors suggest that the main goal of modern information technology education is to prepare students for a full life in the information society. In author’s opinion, the newest modern technologies are the technologies of mobile learning, based on the intensive use of modern mobile equipment and technologies.

The article is based on the GoScience project funded by the Erasmus+ programme. The project relies on the European context, where in spite of the development of science and technology fewer and fewer students follow a science career let alone one in agricultural sciences. As a result professors of science and their students from seven European countries have joined their efforts to identify innovative practices to motivate students to study and pursue a career in science. The aim of the project is to develop innovative tools for science teaching and learning which will make science education more appealing and empower students to take ownership of their learning. The article studies the main findings of the project’s research on methods and techniques used in teaching science and reading comprehension skills applied to scientific texts in foreign languages in Romania. The project’s research has identified a common conclusion: an effective reading comprehension instruction would bring about significant changes in students’ motivation to study science.

The New Jersey Center for Advanced Technological Education (NJCATE), is dedicated to the improvement of Engineering Technology education through: the development of innovative educational programmes, such as the Mecomtronics Engineering Technology curriculum; design and development of instructional methodologies and materials; student recruitment and retention strategies; strong partnerships among educational institutions and with industry, government and professional societies. Changes in any one facet of technician education are not sufficient to bring about the needed improvement in the preparation of a highly skilled technical workforce to meet current and future needs of industry in a highly competitive global economy NJCATE is creating systemic change by taking a holistic approach to the redesign of engineering technician education. The Center project is supported by funds from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education Program.

A project, with the support of the UNICEF and the Ministry of National Education in Turkey (MoNE), was carried out to develop and implement an in-service teacher training programme aiming at changing participating teachers’ perceptions and practices regarding inclusive education. Within scope of the programme, ten separate modules were developed, each of which focusing on developing teachers’ skills in certain aspects of inclusive education. Within the project, an in-service teacher training model was developed to guide the design of the ten modules in terms of the process, content and materials utilized. The model encompasses hands-on and inspiring teaching methods, the teachers’ collaboration and flexibility in terms of bringing the teachers’ ideas and experiences to the process. For this study, of these modules, “Teaching and Assessment” was chosen to evaluate the effectiveness of the in-service teacher training model in terms of ensuring teacher change. The module aimed at developing the participating teachers’ pedagogical skills in order for them to carry out differentiated instruction and formative assessment. Approximately eight thousand teachers were trained through the Teaching and Assessment Module across Turkey from September to November in 2018. Data for the present study was collected through focus group discussions (FGD). In total, four FGDs were held with randomly selected 27 teachers who participated in the Teaching and Assessment Module. Content analysis was performed in order to analyse the data obtained from the FGDs. According to the results of the study, it was found that although a “one-shot” in-service training approach was implemented, significant changes occurred both in the teachers’ perceptions, awareness and practices regarding inclusive education. However, it was noted that certain factors such as the organization, in particular the place and time of training sessions could be improved. Furthermore, excessive use of worksheets and lack of subject specific examples were criticised by some FGD participants.

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) of foreign language and profile disciplines is currently one of the innovative approaches to teaching foreign language for professional communication to students of non-linguistic universities. However, this approach is not widely used in universities of the Russian Federation. One of the main problems of this lies in the objec-tive difficulties of a foreign language teacher to develop the content of teaching foreign language for professional communication so that it reflects the features of the future professional activity of graduates of the main professional educational programs. We see the solution of the existing problem in the selection of the subject content based on the principle of reliance actualization of interdisciplinary connection and intraprofile specialization of students. In the this work, we a) analyze three approaches to teaching foreign language to students of non-linguistic universities (English for specific purposes – ESP; English as a medium of instruction – EMI; content and language integrated learning of foreign language and subject area); b) consider studies on the selection of the subject content of teaching foreign language to students of “Jurisprudence”, “Gardening”, “Agricultural chemistry and soil science”, “Musical and Instrumental art”, “Vocal art” and “Art of folk singing” programmes; c) develop the content of teaching foreign language for professional communication to students of an agricultural university in the 35.03.07 – “Technology of production and processing of agricultural products” programme in three teaching profiles: “Expertise of quality and safety of agricultural products”, “Technology of production and processing of crop products” and “Technology of production and processing of livestock products”.

Introduction. The active integration of digital technologies into the modern educational process is an urgent task for the global education ecosystem. In this paper, within the framework of the joint international educational project “Digital Toolbox for Innovation in Nursing Education (I-BOX)”, conducted under the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, we present a new instructional design of the educational process using digital technologies on an electronic platform, based on the ASSURE model. The aim of the study is to design digital educational process using the ASSURE model with a view of its integration into electronic platforms. Materials and Methods. The development of the ASSURE model for instructional design was based on three stages. The first stage involved the analysis of available instructional models in order to determine the feasibility of application for the project. The second stage included the adaptation of the ASSURE model for instructional design as consistent with the project objectives. The third stage covered the definition and integration of modern digital technologies in the process of instructional design following the ASSURE model. Results. Based on the results of the study, the participants of the I-BOX Strategic Partnership Consortium developed an ASSURE model that can be applied for the instructional design in educational process when the use of digital technologies (video, audio, podcasts) and the placement of learning materials on an electronic platform are required. Project participants developed a guide “ASSURE MODEL: Conceptual Structure of the Project and Assessment” based on the results of the study with a step-by-step description of the ASSURE model for the e-learning process. The developed educational and audiovisual e-learning materials based on the ASSURE model will be available on the electronic platform. Discussion and Conclusion. The materials of the paper will be useful when designing the educational process on an electronic platform or in an online format. The presented ASSURE model will increase the possibilities and effectiveness of teaching students from different countries using digital technologies on electronic platforms.

Objective: In this paper, we provide the rationale behind and a description of BrainLevel, a new cognitive rehabilitation intervention for children with acquired brain injury. Rationale: Children with acquired brain injury frequently report cognitive problems and consequently problems in participation, psychosocial functioning, family functioning and quality of life. Computerized repeated practice of specific cognitive tasks (so-called ‘brain training’) improves performance on those specific or highly similar tasks, but rarely leads to better daily life functioning. Adding strategy use instruction as an intervention component, with the aim to transfer task-specific effects to other contexts, may yield positive effects on cognitive and daily life functioning of children with acquired brain injury. Description of the new intervention: In BrainLevel, computerized repeated practice is offered via the online training programme BrainGymmer. For the strategy use instruction, we developed a protocol to provide and practice function-specific and metacognitive strategies. The intervention period is 6 weeks, during which children train five times per week for 30 minutes per day at home with BrainGymmer. Additionally, they attend a weekly 45-minute strategy use instruction session on the basis of our protocol with a cognitive rehabilitation specialist. Discussion: BrainLevel is innovative in combining computerized repeated practice with strategy use instruction as cognitive rehabilitation for children with acquired brain injury. Currently, we are investigating the effectiveness of BrainLevel. In this paper, possible adaptations to tailor BrainLevel to other games or contexts, or to incorporate novel scientific insights, for example regarding optimal intervention duration and intensity, are discussed.

This article explores the problematic nature of pedagogy and pedagogic effectiveness in post-compulsory education – the politics of the discourse, the challenges to pedagogic “old-think” by the new learning, and the methodological difficulties of measuring outcomes as attention moves from the theatre of instruction to the setting of application. It takes as its starting point a study commissioned by the UK's Teaching and Learning Research Programme to review and document the evidence base for pedagogic effectiveness in the different field of post-compulosry education. The article unpicks the many different reasons why the scope and framing of this study doomed it to a kind of failure, and why the TLRP's research agenda aroused the passions of many educational researchers outside the mainstream. Concerns centred on TLRP as a manifestation of the new research orthodoxy and its preoccupation with evidence-based research, and the limitations of this orthodoxy in engaging with innovative thinking about new forms of teaching and learning.

Using various forms of computer-assisted instruction in foreign language teacher and translator training has become an obvious fact. While fully distance programs are rather scarce, more and more projects adopt the blended learning approach mediated by different webbased tools. The purpose of the paper is to critically describe and analyse a myriad of tools used as e-learning platforms: Learning Management Systems, glottodidactic platforms, virtual worlds, wikis and social networking tools. It is essential to see different dimensions of innovation in language teacher and translator training, in terms of technology, course management and task design. The discussion will be based on examples of projects run through the tools under analysis in different university programmes all over Poland.

The success of the nation as we move through the 21st century continues to depend on ideas and skills to establish a scientific and innovative society. Mathematics is fundamental for many fields especially science, technology, and engineering. Yet, mathematics is often perceived as difficult to many students as a result, closing doors to science, technology, and engineering career. The conventional education system keeps students away from realising their potential and develop their soft skills. The goal for educators is to continue finding and facilitating the kind of instructional activities that help students understand the concepts behind the math problems, games that motivate them to find creative solutions and take an active part in accelerating their own learning. The reason for introducing games into the mathematics classroom is the enthusiasm, excitement, enjoyment, and total involvement that children experience when playing math games. The observation had taken place at one of the secondary schools in Sg Besar Selangor with 250 Form, Two students, under the “Jelajah Matematik” program. We had four types of games to be played. We found that the students were highly motivated and totally immerse themselves in the games, and, in the end, their attitude toward math grows increasingly more positive. Games offer students the opportunity to experience success, satisfaction, active involvement, and gain confidence in their mathematical abilities.

ABSTRACTPhysics forms the core of any Materials Science Programme at undergraduate level. Knowing the properties of materials is fundamental to developing and designing new materials and new applications for known materials.“Physical Physics” is a physics education approach which is an innovative and promising instruction model that integrates physical activity with mechanics and material properties. It aims to significantly enhance the learning experience and to illustrate how physics works, while allowing students to be active participants and take ownership of the learning process. It has been successfully piloted with undergraduate students studying mechanics on a Games Development Programme. It is a structured guided learning approach which provides a scaffold for learners to develop their problem solving skills.The objective of having applied physics on a programme is to introduce students to the mathematical world. Today students view the world through smart devices. By incorporating student recorded videos into the laboratory experience the student can visualise the mathematical world. Sitting in a classroom learning about material properties does not easily facilitate an understanding of mathematical equations as mapping to a physical reality. In order to get the students motivated and immersed in the real mathematical and physical world, an approach which makes them think about the cause and effect of actions is used. Incorporating physical action with physics enables students to assimilate knowledge and adopt an action problem solving approach to the physics concept. This is an integrated approach that requires synthesis of information from various sources in order to accomplish the task. As a transferable skill, this will ensure that the material scientists will be visionary in their approach to real life problems.

This case study describes how sociocultural and activity theory were applied in the design of a publicly funded, Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB)-based English as a Second Language (ESL) credential program and curriculum for immigrant and international students in postsecondary institutions in British Columbia, Canada. The ESL Pathways Project was conceived to prepare immigrant students to navigate the multiple pathways in the settlement process from postsecondary education to the workplace, community participation, and citizenship. The innovation in curriculum design resulted from the systematic reinterpretation of situated cognition and task-based design using activity theory. Given that both situated and task-based learning share intersecting theoretical lineages with activity theory, this reinterpretation was more a deepening and improvement than a reconceptualization process. The ensuing units were defined by the real-world activities and contexts of target communities of practice, with relevant instructional topics, tasks, genres, skills, and outcomes presented in a systematic manner to support learners to participate, ultimately, in those target communities. This process contrasts with traditional ad hoc forms of task-based curriculum design in ESL and EAP (English for Academic Purposes).Cette étude de cas décrit dans quelle mesure la théorie socioculturelle et la théorie de l’activité ont joué un rôle dans la conception d’un programme d’étude à crédits pour l’anglais langue seconde reposant sur les niveaux de compétence canadiens et visant les immigrants et les étudiants internationaux dans les institutions postsecondaires en Colombie britannique au Canada. Le projet « ESL Pathways » (Parcours en anglais langue seconde) a été conçu pour aider les étudiants immigrants à naviguer les divers parcours que présente le processus d’établissement, depuis les études postsecondaires à la citoyenneté en passant par le milieu du travail et la participation communautaire. Le programme novateur résulte d’une réinterprétation systématique, par le biais de la théorie de l’activité, de la conception située et centrée sur les tâches. Puisque la cognition située et l’apprentissage basé sur les tâches partagent des éléments de la théorie de l’activité, cette réinterprétation représente plutôt un approfondissement et une amélioration qu’une reconceptualisation. Les unités qui en découlent reposent sur des activités réelles et des communautés de pratiques cibles, et elles présentent des thèmes, des tâches, des genres, des habiletés et des résultats de façon systématique de sorte à favoriser la participation des apprenants à ces communautés. Ce processus se distingue des formes traditionnelles et ad hoc de conception des programmes d’étude en anglais langue seconde et en anglais académique.

This paper explains a new model of entrepreneurship education at university level. The early development of potential entrepreneurs through education, experience and nurturing may be one of the most important initiatives that business and other academic schools can pursue, because the role of entrepreneurship in creating new businesses (as well as in innovating within existing companies) can have a profound effect on the national economy. The entrepreneurial ingredients of a university business education include, among other things, a culture of learning in the classroom that fosters entrepreneurial thinking; experience in new business start-ups; and exposure to entrepreneurs through entrepreneurial retreats that ignite the spirit of entrepreneurship. The attributes at the heart of entrepreneurship include creativity, persistence and innovation – attributes that need to be identified, nurtured and freely expressed in the classroom. In order to realize this goal, the professor must be both educator and mentor. A focus on innovation is the most salient feature of an entrepreneurial classroom, wherein the professor's role shifts from the mere delivery of information to the true facilitation of learning. The curriculum and individual courses must be well designed and implemented, and a balance between analytical and creative approaches to instruction must be carefully crafted to tap the inner resources of the mind for creative thought. By leading the efforts for change, universities in Central and Eastern Europe have a great opportunity to capitalize on the market economy. With the advances in innovation, new product development and new management thinking by companies in the global economy, business educators should create new entrepreneurship programmes that are capable of preparing and educating students for a new world. The proposed model includes entrepreneurial retreats for the development of entrepreneurial thinking, since this type of thinking often requires larger doses of educational medicine. Other parts of this integrated model include new curricula and individualized entrepreneurial prescriptions, apprenticeships and opportunity centres.

Abstract Earthquakes are both troubling and fascinating because of their suddenness, the terrible destruction they can wreak and because they still remain unpredictable. This is why emphasis must be placed on preparation, especially in the school system where causes and effects of these hazards are studied. But trying to explain earthquakes, scrutinizing the earth’s depths, taking on the planet internal dynamics… entail moving into the inaccessible. In this respect seismology is a source of complexity and fascination. Scientific culture is thus at the heart of seismic risk instruction. All of this is in what the “SISMOS à l’École” curriculum is involved, by implementing an educational program that allows a natural risk culture to be engaged through a scientific and technological approach. The original and innovative aspect of this programme stems from giving students the opportunity to install a seismometer in their school. The recorded signals, reflecting regional or global seismic activity, feed into an on-line database, a genuine seismic resource centre and a springboard for educational and scientific activities. The network ‘EduSismo’ (numbering some sixty stations installed in metropolitan France, the overseas departments and territories and a few French high schools abroad) is the outgrowth of an experiment conducted in the Alpes-Maritimes area some twelve years back. Since then, the programme implemented has gone beyond simply acquiring seismic signals, which has been procured by research and monitoring centres. By appropriating a scientific measurement, the student becomes personally involved and masters complex concepts about geophysics and geosciences. The development of simple devices and the design of concrete experiments associated with an investigative approach make it possible to instill the students, these future citizens, a high-quality scientific culture and an education about risks. Today, this programme is expanding. New initiatives with Italian, British and Swiss partners are being put in place to share experiences and data in Europe.

Technology use in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programmes is seen as a strategy to support pedagogical innovation and intensifying growth in post-secondary international student enrolments. This article discusses government-funded research documenting the largely undefined use of technologies in post-secondary North American EAP programmes. This study surveyed EAP teachers and administrators in over 40 universities and colleges across North America using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Site visits involving classroom observations, interviews with teachers and administrators, student focus groups and student surveys were then conducted to deepen understanding of the affordances of technology-mediated EAP approaches from stakeholder perspectives in situated post-secondary contexts. Findings reveal widespread enthusiasm about emerging technologies to engage learners, develop autonomous learning, instructional pathways and transferable 21st century skills. However, despite this enthusiasm, many participating teachers, administrators and students also expressed critical views towards technology integration. Instructors noted time, lack of pedagogical guidance and vision, inadequate support, and training impacting their actual use and visions of technology use. Participants also revealed a ‘visioning’ dilemma where they had difficulty identifying the potential of emerging technologies that they had no concrete experience with. Findings suggest the need for sound theoretically informed techno-pedagogy in order to support technology integration in EAP. Implications for teacher education, further research and EAP teaching and curriculum design in today’s digital era conclude the article.

<p class="Abstract">The organization of Romanian distance learning in music has been supported in terms of research, collaboration and financing by European projects, with the following achievements: training of teaching staff involved in distance learning, assistance in activities meant to introduce ICT in general schools, construction of a platform dedicated to distance learning activities, creating a database with instrumental accompaniments for singers, designing multimedia courses, assessing distance learning programs offered by the Academy of Music Gheorghe Dima in Cluj-Napoca.</p><p class="Abstract">The Prelude Training Programme on ICT in Music Education – a project aimed at developing a training programme for in-service music educators, as there are many ways in which technology helps educators meet instructional goals: Programs designed to help students develop their musicianship or improve their knowledge of notation and skill in reading notation, support with improvisation skills, notation and sequencing programs which assist students in composition activities.</p><p class="Abstract">Vemus - Virtual European Music Schools - a programme which focuses on teaching music notation or performing instruments, involving execution of rhythm patterns, melody, music scores; E-vocal learning, with simultaneous appearance of sound and notation, conducted by famous musicians. DIMA - Direct Impact of Multimedia Application - a platform that comprises courses, audio and video examples focusing on music history, performing and listening activities.</p><p class="Abstract">The partners proceed from various areas (higher education, innovation/development centers), and the projects were conceived to stimulate the implementation of ICT in the educational process in music, approaching teaching staff as a target group, and students as an interested party.</p>The need for such products was revealed by interviews and questionnaires and the results’ evaluation proved that the online environment can be accessed in order to develop educational resources, enrich lesson content, motivate and engage children in music education, deliver information and learning opportunities, stimulate children in their musical endeavors.

Abstract Through the example of State Scientific and Production Enterprise «Kartographia» the practical steps on publishing of educational electronic cartographic production in Ukraine are analysed. The main functions of using such products in the process of teaching as a key element of innovation techniques implementation into school education are defined. The authors represent the features of application of system approach to creation of electronic cartographic aids. The requirements to the educational electronic cartographic aids are related to the specific aspects of production tasks and technological solutions. The most essential part of the process of creation of electronic aid is a methodic processing. The quality and efficiency of the aid are defined by it. Electronic aid general structure which includes a list of programme units, intermodular connections, terms and definitions for hyperlinks is a result of this processing. Specificity of production tasks causes additional demands to creation of electronic aids. In the article authors consider the requirements and methodic approaches to the content, font style and color composition of electronic aids. Authors also present the recommendations for editor’s work. Due to the use of system approach to the creation of electronic cartographic aids new models of planning or giving lessons can be used and modern instructional techniques can be implemented as a practical matter.

As we approach the last quarter of the year, it is time that Fellows of the Philippine Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (PSOHNS) receive this report from the President and the Board of Trustees. Following the successful staging of the midyear congress at EDSA Shangrila and distribution of the coffeetable book-- another chronicle of our rich history-- we also witnessed the launching of the advocacy campaign “Change is in the Air” led by Philippine Academy of Rhinology (PAR) Chair Dr. Tony Chua with Drs. Mari Enecilla and Joel Romuladez that even saw print in the newspapers. Despite the challenges, the support we received from our pharmaceutical friends was tremendous and the avowed fund support for advocacy from the proceeds of that congress amounting to a little over P2 million will certainly go a long way for our future campaigns. Our new home and headquarters at 27 Manga Road, Quezon City was finally inaugurated last July 8. Legal ownership with the title of the property under the name of PSOHNS has been effected as has been approved by the general assembly with the funds related to our transfer and total expenses for minor renovation and transfer and other taxes amounting to an expenditure of almost P29 million. The tax-exempt certificate filed from our Medical Plaza Ortigas business address will be transferred to Quezon City with the application for a change in business address. There have already been activities, meetings and functions held at our new headquarters. As approved by the Board, we have invited the Philippine Board of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (PBOHNS) to hold their meetings there and also hold office in one of the rooms. We expect full transfer by the time this tax-exempt certificate and occupancy permit have been obtained. The work on becoming a recognized specialty by the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) is still a work in progress but the task is in hand more than ever with about 5000 more votes during the last congress and hopefully the final turnover of these votes before the next PMA convention in May 2017 will make the campaign a success. I urge all the Fellows and Chapters to continue to rally their colleagues and use the proxy forms available at the secretariat. We have written the PMA to inform us of the number of votes still needed. It is on record that our society in fact submitted the most number of proxy votes for this campaign during the last PMA convention. Let us all work even harder to make this a reality by May 2017. The Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) and Philippine Regulatory Board of Medicine (PRBOM) required us last May to develop and submit an Outcomes Based Education (OBE) Curriculum. We submitted the required curriculum to the PRBOM led by Dr. Miguel Noche in cooperation and close collaboration with the PBOHNS led by Dr. Rodolfo Nonato through the commendable hard work of Drs. Agnes T. Remulla, Elmo Lago and Ed Alfanta as well as other committed fellows from the different subspecialties and institutions. Welcome changes to the required list and number of procedures for resident trainees as a result of the formulation of this new curriculum were approved. Our core values of Professionalism, Service with Excellence, Outstanding Education and Research, Honor and Integrity, Nationalism and Solidarity stood as pillars that guided the whole process of crafting this OBE. It will now be incumbent upon the institutions to tweak their instructional designs and particular curricula to conform to or even surpass the common minimum standards. We will bring to the table this curriculum and standards when we talk with our Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) counterparts in the move to ASEAN Harmonization and Integration. The next midyear congress will be held in Laoag City under the leadership of Dr. Jose Orosa III. The next Annual Congress will be jointly held with the 10th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyposis from November 29- December 2, 2017 with PAR and Dr. Gil Vicente as prime mover. The Philippines will also host the 10th Otorhinolaryngology International Academic Conference (ORLIAC) on March 1-3, 2018 with myself as co-chair. The theme will be “East Meets West: The Future of ORLHNS” with Prof. Jan Veldman and Prof. Lokman Saim helping organize this with world renowned ORL clinician-researchers willing to share their expertise on issues relevant to our country and the region. We hope this will inspire our young ENT diplomates and fellows to embark on academic and innovative strategies in the interest of achieving better care in ORLHNS. The 60th Annual Congress at Marriott Grand Ballroom from December 1-3, 2016 will culminate the celebration of our diamond jubilee year. The PSOHNS will host the 6th Pan Asia Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in this joint Congress. We are excited at this year’s theme: Restoring Form and Function and the record number of speakers for the congress with its interesting scientific and social programme will be astounding. As we close the year more projects are forthcoming such as the updated Clinical Practice Guidelines (Sleep Surgery has been disseminated with Otitis Media and Sinusitis to follow). On its 35th year, the Philippine Journal of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery’s continued moves toward open access will make our research work more accessible and available to scientific circles worldwide. We have recognized the loyalty and service of our personnel Mia, Sharon, Melissa and Kiko by a windfall increase in salaries and benefits that have long been overdue. We are now in the process of digitizing our records along with other housekeeping functions that we have embarked on this year. We also foresee a constitutional amendment to accommodate an expanded membership programme to be attuned with the mandate and direction of the Philippine Medical Association to be as inclusive as possible. The kind approval of the Fellows in the general assembly meeting is prayed for considering the fact that our scientific calendar and a lot of PSOHNS activities have been geared towards preparing the resident trainees, diplomates and non-diplomates and board eligibles to be dedicated Fellows of PSOHNS in the future, imbued with the core values we so cherish.

The modern technology of video surveillance systems has proved to be the best solution in direct supervision of property, individuals, and the environment. This article addresses the design approach of a smart surveillance system for university library to ensure compliance with library usage rules. The solution proposed for the surveillance system depends on innovative integration of intelligent algorithm, cameras and motion detectors in the web application. An algorithm was created according to the instructions of attending the university library of Al-Nahrain University. This algorithm has the ability to analyze video and extract the effectiveness that does not comply with the library's rules and regulations that the student can do in the library. The PX1-C415 Single Board Computer type is programmed with a smart algorithm and integrated with motion detectors and video cameras to create the proposed system. It has ability for detection, processing and rapid response through capturing images and transferring them to a wireless module on the administrative desk and thus activating the alarm system. The accuracy of the detection algorithm used was 91% for a distance of 1-5 meters. In addition, the admin received the violations with accuracy of 93%. The proposed system offers a perfect solution that is accurate, fast and scalable to support comprehensive and economical monitoring.

As part of a programme of research that is developing tools to enhance choreographic practice, an interdisciplinary team of cognitive scientists, neuroscientists and dance professionals collaborated on two studies examining the mental representations used to support movement creation. We studied choreographer Wayne McGregor's approach to movement creation through tasking, in which he asks dancers to create movement in response to task instructions that require a great deal of mental imagery and decision making. In our first experiment, we used experience sampling methods (self-report scales and reports about the current focus of thought) with the full company of Wayne McGregor | Random Dance to describe what the dancers report thinking about while creating movement, and to establish how their experiences change as a function of different task conditions. In particular, we contrasted a conventional ‘active’ condition (where dancers are free to move around) with a ‘static’ condition (where they have to create movement mentally, without moving), because all neuroimaging studies of dance require participants to lie motionless within a scanner. We adapted the static mode from Experiment 1 for the neuroimaging session in Experiment 2. Here we recorded the brain activity of an experienced dancer from Wayne McGregor | Random Dance while she mentally undertook movement creation tasks similar to those used in our experience sampling experiment. Both studies involved imagery tasks of a primarily spatial-praxic nature (involving an imagined object or volume that could be approached and manipulated) and imagery that focused on content invoking emotional narratives. In the first study, the dancers’ awareness was focused more than they had anticipated upon conceptual rather than physical or bodily aspects. The very act of reflecting on, and categorising, their experiences provided the dancers with insights about their mental habits during innovative movement creation. Such insights provide conditions under which habits can be recognised and then altered to adopt alternative points in mental space from which to create movement material. Providing the dancers and McGregor with a means to communicate more productively about the properties of the task-based instructions has been acknowledged by the company to be of clear benefit and a useful addition to their working process. In the second study we assessed the feasibility of using fMRI to study the neural underpinnings of choreographing movement tasks. The experiment enabled us to compare brain activity in imagery and movement creation. The data raise some key questions concerning the mental context in which such thinking occurs and, given the clear limitations of the current fMRI and experience sampling work, how future research might usefully be directed. Taken together, these two exploratory studies indicate that the experiential and neural attributes of imagery during movement creation are open to systematic investigation: innovative movement creation can start from alternative points in mental, as well as physical, space. This enables us to look forward to establishing with greater precision how tasks that challenge dancers in different ways may affect mental and neural processes and how variation in imagery use across dancers might contribute to the variety of movement creation that they produce. Notably, the act of reflecting on the experience of movement creation also offers some practical leverage to help dancers develop a wider range of strategies for innovation. These findings are being used to contribute to further work informing the development of personal, notebook-like, Choreographic Thinking Tools.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe a dynamic and continuous process for evaluating entrepreneurship pedagogies to implement continuous improvement of entrepreneurship education in order to achieve increased student engagement in face-to-face classes. Pedagogy is argued to be a significant contributor to entrepreneurship education programmes, consisting of dynamic activities and initiatives within the scope of defined entrepreneurship education ecosystems.Design/methodology/approachA “minute paper” was used as a quick and convenient method to obtain qualitative data on student perceptions of different pedagogies. The research adopted an action-research strategy where data were analysed using concept mapping to identify key themes that the educator can use to further develop or modify the pedagogy during course delivery.FindingsThe research identified student perceptions of the nature of engagement with pedagogies, and of possible improvements that were used by the educator to increase student engagement during course delivery. Different pedagogies were found to have varying outcomes on students’ engagement with entrepreneurship learning, and as such, contextual and spatial factors have to be taken into account when implementing new and/or adjusted pedagogies.Research limitations/implicationsRepeated application of the research method to different pedagogies was carried out in several deliveries of an undergraduate entrepreneurship foundation course in one university. As such, further research requires testing in various institutional and delivery contexts as well as comparisons of learning and other outcomes including entrepreneurial intentions between classes where particular pedagogies may or may not be used.Practical implicationsThe approach described is relatively straightforward to implement, with marginal resource and time. It provides rich data that gives insights into student perceptions of engagement with an individual pedagogy that the educator can use to modify to modify in order to increase student engagement.Originality/valueThe paper describes a practical method for educators to evaluate and develop optimal pedagogies for a particular class or group of students. This method can be applied to small as well as large class sizes, and data analysis can be carried out in real time to make improvements during course delivery. Although this method is described in the context of entrepreneurship education, it can be applied to other fields of instruction.

When a common set of characteristics is used to examine the different areas of human interest and endeavour, music can lay claim to being a discipline of knowledge equal in depth, breadth, structure, rigour and quality to the sciences, social sciences and other humanities. Since a universal goal is to provide opportunities for those interested in the music discipline to develop competencies for successful participation, it is imperative that these characteristics be understood and their cross-cultural values promoted. The music discipline has a membership, a worldwide community of people who have shared interests, values, common roots and goals, and a commitment to a common cause. Composers, performers, and musicologists are the core members of the community. Its members interact: they (a) communicate and collaborate with each other, (b) use a specialised language and symbol system, (c) are dedicated to exploring and perpetuating the language of sound. They also develop expertise: they (a) work in special ways using unique modes in inquiry, (b) contribute to the conceptual structure of sound that communicates across cultures, (c) have a capacity for innovation and ways of perpetuating the discipline. Instructional programmes based on characteristics of music as a discipline of knowledge are a microcosm of the world's music community; they bridge the present to the past and to the future and have relevance for all cultures and times.

Covid-19 pandemic has gripped over than 210 countries in the world, not to mention Indonesia, and will reshape the current society in every aspect. Historically, the current pandemic is not the first one which happen in the world. Spanish flu’s outbreak in 1918 had killed more than 50 millions worldwide. However, there would be a different response on environment, lifestyle, society, and technology between the past and the current pandemic. The urgent requires for coping pandemic challenges the humanity in terms of effort regarding to vaccine, medicine, health supplement, medical device development and innovation. Those efforts are purposed not only for the medication, but also the for the prevention, specifically for the initial diagnostic. Blessed with a massive biodiversity, Indonesian society wisely utilize their local wisdom by consuming the herbal potion, to increase their immunity system as their first line response. Besides the prevention of Covid-19 protocol, Indonesia actively elaborates with another country to discover the vaccine and other beneficial aspects. The establishment of Covid-19 pandemic mitigation and national economic recovery, by the means of presidential regulation (Perpres) No. 82/2020, signals the synergy effort of economic recovery and health programme. In addition, to promote the scientific manner of society, government issues the presidential instruction (Inpres) No. 06/2020. Those regulations are believed will boost the new normal adaptation process.

Introduction. In spring 2020, Russia, as all other countries around the world, faced the challenge of massive shift of schools to online learning. This shift revealed the lack of existing empirical data on technological and instructional readiness of the local teaching communities to such learning format. Having regulatory and platform capacities for distance education at the national level, there was a widening gap between local teaching communities regarding their facilities and readiness to transform traditional learning process. Aim. This research is aimed at defining the attitude of teachers to the shift to distance learning, as well as their estimates of its potential for the learning process. Methodology and research methods. The current research is based on the ideas of innovation and technology acceptance, as well as planed behaviour that have been suggested by F. Davis, T. Guskey, M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen, and R. Puentedura. The research materials were collected via a survey completed by 239 learners of the online upskilling programme “Digitization of the educational process”. The survey was conducted in March-April 2020. Texts collected for the open-ended questions in the survey were subjected to the content analysis. Results. Judging from the survey results, local teaching communities multiplied their usage of online platforms and other e-learning technologies (messaging services, videoconferencing, etc.). Teachers highly evaluated their technological and instructional competencies for distance learning as early as in April 2020, while they perceived their pupils' readiness to such learning as moderate. At the same time, teachers moderately valued the state's contribution into the support of schools when they shift into massive distance learning, and showed significant interest in the non-state educational platforms. The majority of teachers believe that digital educational technologies are sufficient for high-quality teaching of their disciplines and achieving their learning objectives. The survey results demonstrated significant internal potential of the regional education system for a change, technological and instructional development. Scientific novelty consists of a deep analysis of a specific local pedagogical community, based on the collection of material about the reflection of school staff on technological and methodological changes in education specifically in the period of active transformational changes. A high internal potential of the local pedagogical community for transformation on the basis of operational empirical measurements has been recorded. Practical significance. The present research shows that respondents, who perform remote teaching during the Covid-19 quarantine, perceive digital technologies as approachable, helpful and already date-to-date tools; the regional teachers proved to be self-reflexing and flexible. The deficits and growing points that the teachers defined, should be used to navigate the actions of the decision makers responsible for distance learning at school during and after the quarantine.

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> This paper is focussed on the work and remit of the ICA’s Commission on Education and Training (CET), presenting a reflection by the retiring chair of the current issues which affect the work of Commission members and all engaged in current education and training of students of cartography around the world.</p><p> The nature and development of cartography as an academic and professional discipline has been discussed through many presentations, both conceptual and applied, and in various arenas and communities, over the past half century. As cartographic practice became standardised in the 20th century, so educational and instructional materials describing and analysing the discipline conveyed a relatively uniform message, ensuring that the audience of learners were educated and trained positively to an agreed agenda. In effect, a subtle, as yet unwritten, ‘Body of Knowledge’ was developed and elucidated in educational materials, notably textbooks on cartography, in the last few decades of the last century (Kessler, 2018).</p><p> It was during these years, however, that cartography developed as a discipline far beyond its initial roots as a map-making technology. The technology of map-making certainly changed completely, and a host of other aspects were incorporated, from metrical analysis of historical map documents to gender-oriented investigations of mapping activity; from the integration and importance of cartography in contemporary geospatial data handling to the role of volunteer map-making; from the psychology of map interaction and decision making to the mathematics of map projections and multi-dimensional data representation; and many, many other activities and issues which must be included in educational programmes in cartography.</p><p> It is the establishment, adoption and maintenance of a Body of Knowledge (BoK) which is one of the main <strong>challenges</strong> (this paper presents 11, in <strong>bold</strong> below) and, if successfully met, it can assist in ensuring that cartographic education and training develops as required in the next few decades (Fairbairn, 2017). The further challenges highlighted in this paper can form the basis for further investigation by the CET in the future. This listing of issues is informed by a number of contemporary changes in technology, by closer integration of cartography with other geospatial sciences, by research achievements and investigations in the field, by advances in educational praxis, by demands on cartography by a host of other activities, and by consequent recognition of the discipline by learned and professional bodies.</p><p> One of the main purposes in developing a <strong>Body of Knowledge</strong> is to encompass and facilitate curriculum design. As the widening scope of cartography will be reflected in the developing BoK (most notably in cartography’s contribution to GIS), <strong>curriculum design</strong> must be flexible and innovative enough to cope with more numerous and wider, though focussed and integrated, topics. The admirable, existing BoK in Geographic Information Science and Technology, already being reviewed and enhanced, but omitting many <strong>specific cartographic principles</strong>, is a possible framework for incorporating these. Alternatively there are sound arguments for a uniquely cartographic BoK, and this enterprise is certainly an ICA-approved pursuit.</p><p> Also within the BoK, the <strong>theoretical foundations for the study of cartography</strong> must be elucidated and moved from the research agenda to the educational curriculum. A revised <i>Research Agenda</i> developed under ICA auspices and a focussed <i>Body of Knowledge</i> are synergistic documents, with interdependent content in one directing content in the other. Such documents may be perceived by many to be overly conceptual, un-related to everyday mapping activity. In terms of cartographic production in the past 50 years, we have moved far from the standardised methods mentioned earlier, applied by every commercial and governmental mapping organisation. The activity of map-making has adopted a host of alternative methods, and artefacts, data-sets and representations are created and ‘mashed-up’ by an increasingly wide range of individuals and groups with highly variable experiences, expertise and understanding of cartographic procedures. In terms of ‘organised’ cartography in multi-employee companies, government and non-government agencies, academic and research groups, and associated industrial and environmental companies, a further challenge is <strong>understanding what employers want from graduates in cartography and GIS</strong>. The delivery of education in cartography is an academic activity, but it must be done in a manner which demonstrates relevance to the community which relies on the skills of an educated workforce.</p><p> In some cases the cartographic community, notably its educators, may have to direct their attention outside the classroom and convince the fragmenting industry that cartographic principles are vital for effective management and communication of information, and that the products of cartographic education (the graduates from educational programmes) are serious and informed potential employees with much to offer a wide range of human activity. Such recognition by those outside the academy can be encouraged by seeking and receiving <strong>professional accreditation</strong> from awarding bodies such as industry associations, learned societies, educational authorities and public bodies. The landscape of professional recognition in the disciplines of cartography and GIS is highly varied, geographically, institutionally, legally, and pedagogically. The fluid nature of the disciplines, and in particular their fuzzy distinction from a host of other geomatics, geospatial, engineering, environmental, and social activities means that cartographic education must acknowledge and address its interaction with education in many other sciences. <strong>Linking cartographic education and its principles with related education in other closely related geo-disciplines</strong> is particularly important. Common messages must be presented stressing cartography’s importance and relevance.</p><p> At the possible wider levels mentioned above, experiences and <strong>lessons learned from teaching cartography and GIS to a broad range of non-specialists</strong> must be documented: cartographic principles must be shown to be important and relevant to all those engaged in handling maps and mapping data. Stressing the importance of such principles is especially vital when education is done at a distance: the Commission has long been interested in those activities which <strong>develop on-line educational resources</strong> and look at innovative ways of delivering education widely to large audiences outside formal educational establishments. We already have reports on mature and effective resources in the form of MOOCs, distance learning courses, and online training modules (e.g. Robinson and Nelson, 2015). Such methods of delivery for cartographic education have proven popular and efficient: educators must ensure continued relevance, update, and diligence, in managing these activities.</p><p> In addition to content development and assessment frameworks, it is technical requirements which are often perceived as major blocks to effective use of in-line educational resources. <strong>Technical support requirements</strong> are critical in every form of cartographic education: in the past replication of map reproduction labs was prohibitive for most educational establishments; today it is the acquisition of a full range of software which mitigates against full exposure to the varied range of cartographic and geospatial data handling activity as practised in the ‘real world’. The generosity of some software providers is widely acknowledged in educational institutions, and many of the software products are generic enough to be able to demonstrate the required cartographic principles in a non-partisan manner. However, in many cases employers are seeking specific training skills in particular packages and this can be difficult to provide within a formal educational programme.</p><p> Recent additions to the ‘wish-list’ of employers, however, have been related to abilities in coding and computer programming. Luckily, the most commonly sought skill is ability to write code in Python or Javascript. These are open source, rather than a commercial, products, and hence can be acquired by any educational establishment. The <strong>use of open source software and datasets in geospatial and cartographic education</strong> is becoming increasingly important, and their effective integration with traditional (and indeed contemporary) curricula in cartographic education is clearly a further challenge.</p><p> This paper has outlined a number of challenges facing cartographic education. Like the wider discipline, education in cartography is delivered by capable and dedicated individuals, each with interests in the development of the discipline in an increasingly diverse and varied educational arena. The Commission is intent on addressing the challenges outlined, promoting effective and high-quality cartographic education.</p>

Purpose Women are underrepresented in most university entrepreneurship education (EE) programmes and less likely than men to pursue business venturing as a career. One reason may be the “entrepreneurial identity gap”, whereby female students do not see themselves as successful entrepreneurs. This paper aims to explore the nature of this identity gap and its relationship to entrepreneurial intent and entrepreneurship education. Design/methodology/approach A set of contemporary, gender-inclusive entrepreneurial attributes was developed using entrepreneurial subject matter experts and tested with 591 university students to explore the nature of the gendered entrepreneurial identity gap. Findings While masculine stereotypes persist and the entrepreneurial identity gap is larger for female students, results suggest that a more gender-inclusive vocabulary of entrepreneurship is emerging among the student population and an androgynous perception of the idealized entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship education had a positive influence on entrepreneurial intent. Research limitations/implications Study findings advance the conversation about entrepreneurial identity, the nature of the gendered identity gap and the role of education in closing that gap. The questionnaire and set of gender-inclusive attributes should continue to be tested beyond student samples. Practical implications Based on this study, entrepreneurship education could benefit from more gender-inclusive instructional practices and vocabulary and a broadened definition of what it means to be entrepreneurial. More students – both men and women – will see themselves as entrepreneurs and be inspired to participate in the innovation economy. Originality/value This study takes a novel approach to the study of entrepreneurial identity, developing a new set of attributes and contemporary vocabulary around business venturing.

Introduction. Existing practice in the realization of projects in educational, as part of the practical training of software developers, are based in cooperation with using a specific programming language and the corresponding development environment (IDE), that binds the user to a specific workplace. However, high activity and mobility of stakeholders, who in the process of solving personal affairs and solving their own interests do not having enough time for individual training, which is a catalyst for processes reducing the quality of a product of an educational project. So, if young people spend much time on electronic devices such as mobile phones with permanent access to the Internet, the implementation of some components of the specified educational project should be organized with the possibility of mobile access to educational content. Due to the use of distance learning in education the opportunity to acquire professional competencies using, for example, virtual learning environments. These modules can function either as components of the learning process or as the basis for instruction. Most distance learning platform allows you to implement the processes of forming practical skills through the performance of test, practical or interactive tasks, etc. However, the platform for distance learning (besides additionally installed plugins) does not provide the ability to improve practical programming skills without the use of the IDE and the operating system, which causes the stakeholder to be attached to the workplace equipped with a personal computer. Due to the difficulty of the mentioned component of the educational project, there is a need for the development of a fundamentally new technology of mobile access to the practical component of educational content and the exploration of its effectiveness. So, analyzing a problem can install, that world practice has many proven technologies for expanding the functionality of distance learning platforms and activating stakeholders of educational projects in the process of acquiring practical programming skills. However, all of the above technologies do not allow mobile access to educational content, conditionally linking the stakeholder to a specific workplace with an IDE, or a plug-in in the form of an on-line (virtual) development environment. Aim. The aim of the study was to develop the fundamentally new technology for the formation quality product of the educational project preparative of software developers, which is to streamline the unstructured code of the program with the possibility of mobile access to educational content and study the effectiveness of the integration processes of the proposed technology in the definitions educational projects. Methods. The processing of experimental data was carried out using of the method of field observation and mathematical statistics. Results. The article outlines the problem of organizing mobile access to the practical component of educational content in educational projects for the training of programmer engineers. To solve the above problem, a conceptually new technology of forming the product quality of an educational project is proposed, which is to streamline the unstructured code of the program with the possibility of mobile access to educational content. The essence of technology is the integration of additional components into the educational environment, which consist in the use of the developed mobile application by stakeholders of the project. In the second part of the work, the study of the effectiveness of the declared technology of forming the quality of a product of an educational project was conducted through its introduction into the educational environment and monitoring of changes in the quality index. On the basis of observation results, using well-known methods of mathematical statistics, the forecast of the probable quality of the product of an educational project was carried out, provided the classical and innovative approach to the process of its formation. Conclusions. According to the results of the work we can draw the following conclusions: Through the development of a cross-platform application using the C # programming language, was created a conceptually new technology of formation quality of product of educational project for training engineer-programmers, which is to streamline the unstructured code of the program with the possibility of mobile access to educational content. 2. According to the results of field observations, Using the well-known methods of mathematical statistics, a study was made of the effectiveness of the innovative technology of forming the product quality of educational project of training engineer-programmers, which indicates the expediency of the development of scientific direction and the integration of the proposed technology into the educational environment of the Lviv State University of Life Safety.

Educational conditions reflect society’s cultural traditions and political system, in turn affecting society’s development. The development of the younger generation is guided by way of education, for which reason working out educational policy requires the participation of society’s various interest groups. This article analyses changes in the teaching of history in the transitional period from the Soviet era to restored independent statehood. The development of subject content, the complicated role of the history teacher, the training of history teachers, and the start of the renewal of textbooks and educational literature are examined. The aim is to ascertain in retrospect the developments that took place prior to the restoration of Estonia’s independence, in other words the first steps that laid the foundation for today’s educational system. Legislation, documents, publications, and media reports preserved in the archives of the Ministry of Education and Research and the Archival Museum of Estonian Pedagogics were drawn upon in writing this article, along with the recollections of teachers who worked in schools in that complicated period. These recollections were gathered by way of interviews (10) and questionnaires (127). Electronic correspondence has been conducted with key persons who participated in changes in education in order to clarify information, facts, conditions and circumstances. The discussion in education began with a congress of teachers in 1987, where the excessive regulation of education was criticised, along with school subjects with outdated content, and the curriculum that was in effect for the entire Soviet Union. The resolution of the congress presented the task of building a national and independent Estonian school system. The congress provided an impetus for increasing social activeness. An abundance of associations and unions of teachers and schools emerged in the course of the educational reform of the subsequent years. After the congress, the Minister of Education, Elsa Gretškina, initiated a series of expert consultations at the Republic-wide Institute for In-service Training of Teachers (VÕT) for reorganising general education. The pedagogical experience of Estonia and other countries was analysed, new curricula were drawn up and evaluated, and new programmes were designed for school subjects. The solution was seen in democratising education: in shaping the distinctive character of schools, taking into account specific local peculiarities, establishing alternative schools, differentiating study, increasing awareness and the relative proportion of humanities subjects and foreign language study, better integrating school subjects, and ethical upbringing. The problems of schools where Russian was the language of instruction were also discussed. The Ministry of Education announced a competition for school programmes in 1988 to find innovative ideas for carrying out educational reform. The winning programme prescribed compulsory basic education until the end of the 9th grade, and opportunities for specialisation starting in the second year of study in secondary school, that is starting in the 11th grade. Additionally, the programme prescribed a transition to a 12-grade system of study. Schools where Russian was the language of instruction were to operate separately, but were obliged to teach the Estonian language and Estonian literature, history, music and other subjects. Hitherto devised innovative ideas for developing Estonian education were summed up in the education platform, which is a consensual document that was approved at the end of 1988 at the conference of Estonian educators and in 1989 by the board of the ESSR State Education Committee. The constant reorganisation of institutions hindered development in educational conditions. The activity of the Education Committee, which had been formed in 1988 and brought together different spheres of educational policy, was terminated at the end of 1989, when the tasks of the committee were once again transferred to the Ministry of Education. The Republic-wide Institute for In-service Training of Teachers, the ESSR Scientific-Methodical Cabinet for Higher and Secondary Education, the ESSR Teaching Methodology Cabinet, the ESSR Preschool Upbringing Methodology Cabinet, and the ESSR Vocational Education Teaching and Methodology Cabinet were all closed down in 1989. The Estonian Centre for the Development of Education was formed in July of 1989 in place of the institutions that were closed down. The Institute for Pedagogical Research was founded on 1 April 1991 as a structural subunit of the Tallinn Pedagogical Institute, and was given the task of developing study programmes for general education schools. The Institute for the Scientific Research of Pedagogy (PTUI) was also closed down as part of the same reorganisation. The work of history and social studies teachers was considered particularly complicated and responsible in that period. The salary rate of history teachers working in secondary schools was raised in 1988 by 15% over that of teachers of other subjects, since their workload was greater than that of teachers of other subjects – the renewal of teaching materials did not catch up with the changes that were taking place in society and teachers themselves had to draw up pertinent teaching materials in place of Soviet era textbooks. Articles published in the press, newer viewpoints found in the media, published collections of documents, national radio broadcasts, historical literature and school textbooks from before the Second World War, and writings of notable historians, including those that were published in the press throughout the Soviet Union, were used for this purpose. Teachers had extensive freedom in deciding on the content of their subject matter, since initially there were no definite arrangements in that regard. A history programme group consisting of volunteer enthusiasts took shape at a brainstorming session held after the teachers’ congress. This group started renewing subject matter content and working out a new programme. The PTUI had already launched developmental work. There in the PTUI, Silvia Õispuu coordinated the development of history subject matter content (this work continued until 1993, when this activity became the task of the National Bureau of Schools). The curriculum for 1988 still remained based on history programmes that were in effect throughout the Soviet Union. The greatest change was the teaching of history as a unified course in world history together with themes from the history of the Estonian SSR. The first new curriculum was approved in the spring of 1989, according to which the academic year was divided up into three trimesters. The school week was already a five-day week by then, which ensured 175 days of study per year. The teaching of history began in the 5th grade and it was taught two hours per week until the end of basic school (grades 5 – 9). Compulsory teaching of history was specified for everyone in the 10th grade in secondary school, so-called basic education for two hours a week. The general and humanities educational branches had to study history three hours a week while the sciences branch only had to study history for two hours a week. Students were left to decide on optional subjects and elective subjects based on their own preferences and on what the school was able to offer. The new conception of teaching history envisaged that students learn to know the past through teaching both in the form of a general overview as well as on the basis of events and phenomena that most characterise the particular era under consideration. The teacher was responsible for choosing how in-depth the treatment of the subject matter would be. The new programmes were implemented in their entirety in the academic year of 1990/1991. At the same time, work continued on improving subject programmes. After ideological treatments were discarded, the aim became to make teaching practice learner-oriented. The new curriculum was optional for schools where the language of instruction was Russian. Recommendations for working with renewed subject content regarding Estonian themes in particular were conveyed by way of translated materials. These schools mostly continued to work on the basis of the structure and subject content that was in effect in the Soviet Union, teaching only the history of the Soviet Union and general history. Certain themes from Estonian history were considered in parallel with and on the basis of the course on the history of the Soviet Union. The number of lessons teaching the national official language (Estonian) was increased in the academic year of 1989/1990 and a year later, subjects from the Estonian curriculum started being taught, including Estonian history. The national curriculum for Estonian basic education and secondary education was finally unified once and for all in Estonia’s educational system in 1996. During the Soviet era, the authorities attempted to make the teaching profession attractive by offering long summer breaks, pension insurance, subsidised heating and electricity for teachers in the countryside, and apartments free of charge. This did not compensate the lack of professional freedom – teachers worked under the supervision of inspectors since the Soviet system required history teachers to justify Soviet ideology. The effectiveness of each teacher’s work was assessed on the basis of social activeness and the grades of their students. The content and form of Sovietera teacher training were the object of criticism. They were assessed as not meeting the requirements of the times and the needs of schools. Changes took place in the curricula of teacher training in 1990/1991. Teachers had to reassess and expand their knowledge of history during the transitional period. Participation in social movements such as the cultural heritage preservation movement also shaped their mentality. The key question was educational literature. The government launched competitions and scholarships in order to speed up the completion of educational literature. A teaching aid for secondary school Estonian history was published in 1989 with the participation of 18 authors. Its aim was set as the presentation of historical facts that are as truthful as possible from the standpoint of the Estonian people. Eesti ajalugu (The History of Estonia) is more of a teacher’s handbook filled with facts that lacks a methodical part, and does not include maps, explanations of terms or illustrations meant for students. The compendious treatment of Estonian history Kodulugu I and II (History of our Homeland) by Mart Laar, Lauri Vahtre and Heiki Valk that was published in the Loomingu Raamatukogu series was also used as a textbook in 1989. It was not possible to publish all planned textbooks during the transitional period. The first round of textbooks with renewed content reached schools by 1994. Since the authors had no prior experience and it was difficult to obtain original material, the authors of the first textbooks were primarily academic historians and the textbooks had a scholarly slant. They were voluminous and filled with facts, and their wording was complicated, which their weak methodical part did not compensate. Here and there the effect of the Soviet era could still be felt in both assessments and the use of terminology. There were also problems with textbook design and their printing quality. Changes in education did not take place overnight. Both Soviet era tradition that had become ingrained over decades as well as innovative ideas could be encountered simultaneously in the transitional period. The problem that the teaching of history faced in the period that has been analysed here was the wording of the focus and objectives of teaching the subject, and the balancing of knowledge of history, skills, values and attitudes in the subject syllabus. First of all, Soviet rhetoric and the viewpoint centring on the Soviet Union were abandoned. The so-called blank gaps in Estonian history were restored in the content of teaching history since it was not possible to study the history of the independent Republic of Estonia during the Soviet era or to gain an overview of deportations and the different regimes that occupied Estonia. Subject content initially occupied a central position, yet numerous principles that have remained topical to this day made their way into the subject syllabus, such as the development of critical thinking in students and other such principles. It is noteworthy that programmes for teaching history changed before the restoration of Estonia’s independence, when society, including education, still operated according to Soviet laws. A great deal of work was done over the course of a couple of years. The subsequent development of the teaching of history has been affected by social processes as well as by the didactic development of the teaching of the subject. The school reform that was implemented in 1987–1989 achieved relative independence from the Soviet Union’s educational institutions, and the opportunity emerged for self-determination on the basis of curricula and the organisation of education.

Purpose It has been a decade, as the collaboration between the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) and the Ghana Library Authority (GhLA) to extend information and communication technology (ICT) and library services to rural deprived, unserved and underserved communities in Ghana dubbed the library connectivity project. This paper aims to evaluate this initiative from the perspective of relevant key stakeholders and through the lens of the digital inclusion model. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a qualitative approach to evaluate the library connectivity project offered to deprived communities in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Interviews were conducted with the head librarians, ICT teachers and school librarians. Focus group discussions were held with pupils from four beneficiary schools of the project. The researchers also witnessed four of the outreach programmes and training sessions and observed the mode of instruction. Findings The study brought to fore the enormous benefits of the library connectivity project as it aided school pupils to acquire practical ICT skills, which were found to be useful towards their final exam. Despite the enormous benefit of the project, it was bereft with a lot of challenges such as inadequate logistics and personnel thereby restricting the project to very few schools. Low staff motivation and unmotorable roads were also found to be a challenge, which could all be as a result of lack of funds. Research limitations/implications The paper underscores the importance of computer and information literacy and reveals how the GhLA is using innovative mobile library services to bridge the digital divide through the library connectivity project. Originality/value This paper makes a further contribution to the paucity of literature on the role of mobile libraries in the promotion of computer and information literacy.

The scientific community members tend to acknowledge that scientific achievements in educational sciences are much slower compared to other areas. However, it is encouraging that in 2014 responding to the challenges relevant to the system of education, the young researchers of Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences searched for and substantiated solutions to a number of problems employing their original scientific research. In the Committee of Joint Doctoral Studies (Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences, Kaunas University of Technology, Šiauliai University and Lithuanian Sports University) Kęstutis Trakšelys defended his doctoral thesis on the theme: “Education accessibility within the context of the transformation of Lithuanian society (1990–2010)”. The Committee of the Defence Council consisted of the representatives-researchers from the Joint Doctoral Committee and Prof. Dr. Habil. Alicja Šerlong, Director of the Institute of Pedagogy of Wroclaw University (Poland). All the members of the Doctoral Defence Council unanimously emphasized that the emerging processes of transformations in the global world impose specific tasks on the system of education and oblige the school to organize the process of (self-) education in such a way, which satisfies needs of learners, modern society and the epoch. Therefore, the author of the thesis analyzed an urgent research problem identifying links between social transformations and changes in the system of education from the perspective of accessibility, while solving the problem of accessibility of education in the context of social transformations during the period, which was particularly challenging to the system of education in Lithuania (1990–2010). All the members of the Dissertation Defence Council and opponents considered the doctoral thesis “The development of creative writing skills of primary school pupils using interactive whiteboard” by Agnė Saylik as one of the first works in Lithuania, which focuses on development of primary learners’ creative writing skills employing information and communication technologies. The members of the Committee highly evaluated the creativity of the author, i.e., her ability to create original ideas, make insights, manage the collected information, to employ a variety of methods, to cope with a big sample of respondents, to process the data in a reliable way, etc. The members of the Dissertation Defence Council and opponents of the doctoral thesis “Expression and development of the learning to learn competence of the adults improving their qualification” written by Vilija Lukošūnienė unanimously recognized the relevance and particular innovative character of the thesis, which is said to be timely and answering the urgent challenges of today: ability to approach the competence of learning to learn through the prism of multidimensionality, autonomous learning is analyzed, internal and external factors are singled out, which result in the competence of learning to learn, the hypothetic model for development of the adults’ competence of learning to learn was designed. Analyzing the theme “Developing entrepreneurial capacities of pupils in 9th–12th forms applying coaching in technology lessons” and being a professional teacher-practitioner, Oksana Kietavičienė perceived technological education as a continuous process and understood the necessity to integrate teacher’s and learner’s creation as well as their creative ideas and to apply them in practical pedagogical activities. The thesis was evaluated as a timely, relevant and significant scientific study, which enriches educational powers of all the social sciences and educational science in particular, targeting at nurturance of an initiator and a responsible personality, who is capable of creation, rather than on development of an executor. Kristina Viršulienė used the time of her doctoral studies for scientifi research on pedagogical communication and her efforts were finalized by the written doctoral thesis “Student-teachers’ instructional communication skills and their development”. The Chairperson of the Dissertation Defence Council pointed out that the relevance of the theme is obvious as education is a focused development of individual’s powers on the basis of the created interaction. Pedagogical communication is a basic component of the latter and an essential area of teacher’s professional activity. Empirical testing of efficiency of the programme of educational project is one of the main advantages of this doctoral thesis and this is a new contribution to the treasure trove of the educational science. In his defended doctoral thesis “Pedagogical substantiation of social educator’s educational environment enriched with information and communication technologies”, Rokas Gulbinas theoretically and empirically substantiated the educational environment of a special needs teacher enriched with information and communication technologies (ICT) as a prerequisite for fulfilment of special needs teacher’s functions at new quality level. This is a particularly significant empiric study, which contributed to designing of the hypothetic model of special needs teacher’s activity in the educational environment enriched with ICT, which is relevant not only as the construct of development of methodology of quantitative research but also as a model for improvement of special needs teacher’s activity under changing technological conditions. Giedrė Misiūnienė wrote the doctoral thesis “Modelling of socio-educational activities of multifunctional center in rural (territorial) community”, which aimed to substantiate the hypothetic model of socio-educational activity of multifunctional center in rural territorial community. The Dissertation Defence Council highly evaluated the capability and commitment of the young researcher to addressing severe problems of our time, whereof scientific research, substantiation, forecasting as well as strengthening of positive socio-educational activities in rural communities and their dissemination may not only help an individual and the society but also eliminate illiteracy, exclusion and decline in value-based principles. The initiative of the author of the thesis and her academic supervisor to implement one of the fundamental goals of Dr. M. Lukšienė, i.e, to expand the network of rural and basic schools (10 forms), their activity and, thus, to enhance the national identity, culture and the image of the state, is of particular value. This objective is also outlined in the National Education Strategy for 2013–2022; therefore, the scientific interest of the young researcher to model the emerging multifunctional centers is particularly timely and significant. This is the first unique research of such kind in the country. All the doctoral theses discussed above were defended in Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences in 2014 and their authors were conferred the degree of doctor of Social Sciences (Educational Science (07S)).

Background Of newly diagnosed HIV positive men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Netherlands, 29% have a non-Western migration background (MSM-NW). Among MSM-NW, HIV positivity rates are high (0.8%-2.0%), as is the proportion of late stage infections (39%). Factors such as HIV and sexual orientation–related stigma may form barriers for timely testing. Innovative approaches for HIV testing are needed to better reach MSM-NW. Social network testing (SNT) for HIV is an evidence-supported approach where peer recruiters identify persons (network associates) who could benefit from testing in their social or sexual networks. Web-supported SNT might be particularly promising for reaching people who may not be reached by regular care. Objective The purpose of this paper is to describe the design of our pilot PREVENT (Peer-Empowered Voluntary Extended Network Testing). In this pilot, we will explore whether SNT using HIV self-tests is feasible and acceptable among MSM-NW in the Netherlands and whether it reaches those who were never or not recently tested for HIV (&gt;1 year ago). Methods The project aims to include 50 to 60 MSM and MSM-NW peers who will distribute 4 to 5 oral HIV self-tests each aiming to reach 200 network associates (NAs). Enrollment of peers includes 4 steps: (1) fostering interest in becoming a peer by health care professionals at sexual health clinics, HIV treatment clinics, and community settings; (2) sending peer contact information to the peer coordinator; (3) registering peers and giving program instructions by the peer coordinator and referring to the Web-based training at time2test; and (4) receiving precoded HIV self-tests for distribution in the peers’ networks. NAs who receive the self-test will log in with their test package code in the time2test application for step-by-step test instructions. After testing is complete, NAs receive tailored follow-up information depending on their test result. Results Between January and May 2019, 10 STI clinics and 7 HIV treatment clinics started recruiting peers. Results of the PREVENT pilot are expected in December 2020. Conclusions This is the first Web-supported peer-driven SNT pilot using HIV self-tests in the Netherlands and one of the first in Europe. Implementation is considered successful if it reaches MSM-NW who were never or not recently tested for HIV. Additionally, it may encourage conversations within the networks about risk behavior and barriers to HIV testing, potentially contributing to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS goal of zero HIV infections. Trial Registration Netherlands Trial Registry NL7424; https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/7424 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/14743

Background Dementia education that meets quality and safety standards is paramount to ensure a highly skilled dementia care workforce. Web-based education provides a flexible and cost-effective medium. To be successful, Web-based education must contain features that promote learning and support knowledge translation into practice. The Dementia Care Competency and Training Network (DCC&TN) has developed an innovative Web-based program that promotes improvement of the attitudes, knowledge, skills, behavior, and practice of clinicians, regardless of their work setting, in order to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia. Objective This review aims to (1) determine the key features that are associated with an effective and functional Web-based education program—an effective and functional Web-based program is defined as one that measures results, is accessible, is user friendly, and translates into clinical practice—and (2) determine how these features correlate with the DCC&TN. Methods Six electronic databases—Medline, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), AusHealth, Nursing@Ovid, and Google Scholar—were searched for articles published between 2009 and 2018 using the following keywords: Education, Distance, Continuing, Learning, Online, Web-Based, Internet, Dementia, Program Evaluation, Validation Studies, Outcome and Process Assessment Healthcare, Nursing, Assisted Instruction, and Facilitated. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) and Kirkpatrick’s model for the evaluation of training were used to ensure quality and rigor of the analysis. Results A total of 46 studies met the inclusion criteria. In total, 14 key features were associated with an effective Web-based learning environment, which enabled the environment to be as follows: self-directed, individualized, interactive, multimodal, flexible, accessible, consistent, cost-effective, measurable with respect to participant satisfaction, equitable, facilitated, nurturing of critical thinking and reflection, supportive of creating a learning community, and translated into practice. These features were further categorized into five subgroups: applicability, attractiveness, functionality, learner interaction, and implementation into practice. Literature frequently cites Kirkpatrick’s four-level model of evaluation and application in the review of education and training; however, few studies appeared to integrate all four levels of Kirkpatrick’s model. Features were then correlated against the DCC&TN, with an encouraging connection found between these features and their inclusion within the content and structure of the DCC&TN. Conclusions A total of 14 key features were identified that support an effective and functional Web-based learning environment. Few studies incorporated Kirkpatrick’s salient elements of the model—reaction, learning, behavior, and results—in their evaluation and clinical application. It could, therefore, be considered prudent to include Kirkpatrick’s levels of training evaluation within studies of dementia training. There were few studies that evaluated Web-based dementia education programs, with even fewer reporting evidence that Web-based training could increase staff confidence, knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward people with dementia and be sustainable over time. The DCC&TN appeared to contain the majority of key features and is one of the few programs inclusive of hospital, community, and residential care settings. The 14 key features can potentially enhance and complement future development of online training programs for health sciences education and beyond. The DCC&TN model could potentially be used as a template for future developers and evaluators of Web-based dementia training.

A permit to work (PTW) system is a formal system used to control certain types of work that are identified as potentially hazardous. It is also a means of communication between facility management, plant supervisors and operators, and those who carry out the hazardous work. The essential features of a PTW system are: • Clear identification for who may authorise particular jobs, and who is responsible for specifying the necessary precautions; • Training and instruction in the issue and use of permits; and, • Monitoring and auditing to ensure that the system works as intended. PTW systems are the key to ensuring safe execution of activities at site, yet there are many approaches to how permit systems can, and should, work. Each approach has its own merits and weaknesses. Woodside recognised that, as part of its ongoing program to improve the safety of its workers, there existed significant scope for a new and better work management system. After many years of incremental evolution of the PTW and the fragmentation of the parent system as each facility developed its own variation, it was evident that a completely new system embracing modern technology would provide the best result, while simultaneously standardising Woodside with one common and centralised system. The divergence of the systems over time caused increasing difficulty in managing changes to the PTW system across all sites and in benchmarking to determine best practice. A centralised system would remove accountability from facilities for the development of the business rules, and instead ensure they focussed on compliance with the rules. The new system would adopt key learnings from the industry’s history and address root causes of past incidents. It would also enable the ability to adopt future learnings and become a conduit for rapid integration into the working practices on all sites. The Integrated Safe System of Work (iSSoW) developed by Woodside adopts best practices from permit systems worldwide and combines them with new innovative management features. The system is administered through a simple-to-use computer interface, with incorporation of many of the business rules into the software package. The iSSoW is now in place on all Woodside facilities (platforms, not-normally manned installations, FPSO’s and onshore plants). With nearly 4,000 users, the implementation has required careful coordination, and been supported by a comprehensive training programme. The system has been demonstrated to be both effective and efficient. Effectiveness—the improvement of safety performance—was the primary objective. The system has raised work party hazards awareness, and has resulted in significant improvements in working practices company-wide. Efficiency was a secondary goal, and is made possible through streamlining in the user-interface. The introduction of the new system complements Woodside’s work to develop an improved safety culture, and brings consistency across all sites and all shifts—essential features as our industry struggles to deal with the growing scarcity of skills and experience. The system is now being reviewed by organisations across many industry and service sectors in Australia, and has been implemented in the power industry. This paper discusses the attributes of the system, the many challenges associated with development and large-scale implementation of such a core system, and the additional opportunities the system presents. Using a case study of implementation of iSSoW onto the Woodside operational facilities, it highlights the critical success factors of introducing iSSoW on a company-wide basis.