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This paper reflects the collective experiences of fourteen internationally based social group work educators who met weekly and virtually for seven months during the transition to online teaching necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic. The meetings functioned as a mutual aid support group sponsored by the International Association of Social Work with Groups (IASWG). The paper discusses the group's perceptions of the essential components of effective online group work education. It begins with a review of the history of online social work education. It then outlines the key components instrumental in the planning and developing of engaged online group work classes. Topics include pre-course preparation, norm setting, and building community in the online classroom. Considerations related to the video conferencing platforms, course formats, activities, managing online fatigue, screen sharing, handling chat features, cameras, and break out rooms are interspersed throughout. The paper concludes with a discussion of the use of mutual aid groups as online teaching tools and highlights the online group work teaching experiences of two members in New Zealand and Namibia. Despite initial hesitancy to teach group work virtually, the authors recognize that this can be done effectively but requires additional planning and, ideally, peer and institutional support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Completion rates in vocational education are typically poor for Aboriginal students (<30%). A scholarship program was designed for Australian Aboriginal students using five enablers of success previously identified for Aboriginal preregistration tertiary nursing students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the five enablers contributed to the success of Aboriginal students in vocational education and whether there were any other enablers. Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with two groups of Aboriginal students in Certificate III and IV Dental Assisting and Certificate IV in Allied Health Assistance, and their teaching and support staff. The data were initially coded inductively. Initial codes were then categorised according to the five enablers identified to contribute to the success of Bachelor of Nursing students. New categories were created for data not assigned to the enablers. Results: Twenty students (64.5% of the cohort) and six staff (75%) consented to participate. The five enablers were perceived to have contributed to the success of the scholarship recipients and two additional enablers were identified. A completion rate of 96.8% was achieved by the scholarship recipients (30 completions of 31 enrolments). Conclusions: In contrast with the state average, a completion rate of 96.8% was achieved using seven enablers in this study. To improve completion rates for Aboriginal students, vocational education programs need to be customised to cultural, family and community context. The seven enablers in this study should be subject to a larger study to inform policy, funding, design and delivery of vocational training for Aboriginal students. What is known about the topic?: It is well established in the literature that Aboriginal students have poorer educational outcomes than other students. What does this paper add?: This paper validates five previously identified enablers to improve outcomes for Aboriginal students and an additional two for vocational education. These enablers may also be applicable to other types of education. What are the implications for practitioners?: Practitioners can use the enablers in this study to design and implement vocational education programs and improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study of professor talk in design studio classrooms. In design education, creative thinking is an important learning outcome, as demonstrated in previous observational studies of studio classrooms and interviews with design professors. I found that professors explicitly describe their concurrent and spontaneous thinking while they are analyzing student work and that this talk represents the features of creative thinking identified in prior research. But more significantly, I also found that professors externalize their creative thinking nondenotationally through interactional mechanisms that implicitly represent many features of creative thinking. I used an interaction analysis methodology—transcribing nondenotational features of talk, such as elongated phonemes, restarts, and repairs—to analyze these implicit ways of speaking. Drawing on previous findings in conversation analysis and in creativity research, I demonstrate that these nondenotational aspects of talk implicitly represent the features of creative thinking documented in prior research. As professors externalize their concurrent creative thinking in speech, both explicitly and implicitly, students are scaffolded in their appropriation of creative thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective use of information resources by lecturers is one of the determinants of university education outcomes. To function optimally, lecturers utilise digitised information resources in their duties. University libraries are saddled with the responsibility of organising and providing lecturers' needed information resources. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of digitised library information resources availability on the use of information resources by lecturers in six federal universities in Southern Nigeria. Instruments used for data collection were the DLIRA (r = 0.73) and UIR (r = 0.64) scales. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, the Pearson product moment correlation, and multiple regressions at.05 level of significance. The results showed that digitised library information resources availability on the use of information resources influenced the use of information resources by lecturers in the federal universities in Southern Nigeria. Thus, there is a need for the management of university libraries to intensify efforts at converting most of the paper-based resources to digitised formats for increased use of library resources by lecturers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a micro-level faculty–librarian collaboration implemented at the authors' state university to address students' information literacy deficiencies in a graduate-level history research methods course. The setting, implementation, and evolution of the partnership are described in detail to suggest a model for other instructors. Additionally, consideration is given to issues of working in an online course environment and the benefits of micro- versus macro-level librarian support. Consideration is given to future steps for strengthening the partnership and measuring its impact on student outcomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature on student learning outcomes and academic libraries. An analysis of 81 papers revealed the following themes: outcomes assessment of library skills instruction, tools for assessing students’ achievement of learning outcomes, institutional accreditation and student learning outcomes, academic libraries’ impact on student learning outcomes, and the creation of learning outcomes. An understanding of these themes highlights how student learning outcomes are created, assessed, and valued in the academy.Design/methodology/approach The methodology centered on a literature review of student learning outcomes and academic libraries from 2001 to the present. To identify relevant articles on this topic, the authors searched the library literature with various combinations of the following keywords: learning outcomes, library, academic, university, college, and higher education.Findings An analysis of 81 papers on student learning outcomes and academic libraries revealed the following five themes: outcomes assessment of library skills instruction, assessment tools for student learning outcomes, institutional accreditation and student learning outcomes, academic libraries’ impact on student learning outcomes, and the creation of learning outcomes.Research limitations/implications The research was limited to articles published in English and after 2000.Practical implications The findings can be utilized to inform instructional librarians about creating and assessing student learning outcomes. In addition, the paper can assist librarians in forging partnerships with academic departments and faculty in creating student learning outcomes to support course and departmental outcomes and accreditation efforts.Originality/value The research offers librarians opportunities to incorporate student learning outcomes in library instruction as well as collaborate with faculty in creating student learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a rapidly growing industry of online learning and distance education programs at the Master of Social Work and Bachelor of Social Work levels both within Australia and globally. A number of best practices have emerged from the literature that warrant consideration when delivering social work programs in online learning and distance education modes. Given the significant advancements in technology that are likely to continue into the next decades, social work academic leaders and accrediting bodies must be prepared to address the changing landscape of higher education, including limited financial resources. Social work academics need to become aware and implement best practices in online learning and distance education e-teaching environments to ensure positive student outcomes, student retention, and student engagement to meet the flexibility needs of students in higher education settings. The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the challenges and benefits of distance education and online learning for consideration when providing a social work program in these delivery models. IMPLICATIONS Given the significant advancements in technology that are likely to continue into the next decades, social work academic leaders and accrediting bodies must be prepared to address the changing landscape of higher education. Social work academics need to become aware and implement best practices in the distance education and online teaching environment to ensure positive student outcomes, student retention, and student engagement to meet the flexibility needs of students in higher education settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Librarians are committed to supporting teaching, learning, and research. They are equally committed to supporting student success and retention. Demonstrating the impact that learning management system (LMS) embedded librarians make on student learning has been difficult to correlate, however. Studies that assess this connection, using qualitative and quantitative data have been undertaken in recent years. In a university regional campus library study conducted in 2016-2017, LMS embedded librarians explored the relationship between student learning and information literacy instruction, relying primarily on a customized LMS embedded librarian page of library resources and learning objects. They used a rubric to assess student research papers and bibliographies, LMS course analytics, instructors' grades, and student feedback. This article reviews the literature and their methodology, challenges, and findings. They wish to guide colleagues, committed to assessing how librarians contribute to student learning, in selecting assessment approaches and validate their instructional role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this article is to explore how education for innovation of our young people may help develop an innovative mindset. The article develops the theoretical justification of a skills set which, it is argued, is fundamental for the development of an innovative mindset of young people, and consequently their personal development. We focus here on the qualitative work - focus groups and interviews with teaching staff and students aged 14-19 years - that informed our understanding of the five characteristics of this mindset; leadership, creativity, self-efficacy, energy and risk-propensity. The research attempted to capture the differences in context, constraints and school types and ethos that potentially shaped behavioural expression. Case studies based on types of school revealed detailed differences in context - regional, local and personal - that shaped students' engagement and their innovative behaviour in particular. The paper also reflects on teaching style, extracurricular opportunities for skills' development and student motivation to acquire an innovation skills set. The paper reflects on practical and policy implications of this work and identifies areas for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calls for improvement of undergraduate science education have resulted in numerous initiatives that seek to improve student learning outcomes by promoting changes in faculty teaching practices. Although many of these initiatives focus on individual faculty, researchers consider the academic department to be a highly productive focus for creating change. In this paper, we argue that it is important for change agents to understand the informal social structure of the academic department and introduce social network analysis techniques to uncover this social structure. Examples are given from data collected in five academic departments. A short sociometric web survey was used to ask instructors to identify colleagues with whom they discuss teaching and the frequency of their discussions. Techniques of social network analysis are used to determine the current state of the department, target participants for a change initiative, and anticipate the spread of new teaching ideas. Results suggest that these techniques identify informal structures that would otherwise be hidden and that may be important for planning change initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the senior population comes from various backgrounds, how to meet their needs and to cater to their different levels poses a great challenge for aging-education instructors when designing effective projects. The goal of this paper was to present the implementation of an innovative and effective project in aging education titled The K-shape Learning Project for Senior Citizens. The project was implemented in Taitung University and lasted for five months with 140 seniors in five sessions in total. An action research approach was adopted for the course implementation and content modification throughout this project. Meanwhile, data was collected through questionnaires and interviews. The findings then emphasized four elements for other aging education professionals' references: the philosophy and goal of the project, the implementation process of the project, the perception and response of participants, and the reflection of the educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]