Search

In this paper we report experiences in implementing a new course 'Understanding Drone & Robotics Technology -- History, Usage, Ethics & Legal Issues' at the Singapore Management University framed as a strategic knowledge management (KM) initiative in an institution of higher learning aimed at capturing, sharing and creating new knowledge about disruptive technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles. We posit the new course as a knowledge innovation initiative (similar to a KM-enabled business case in a corporate setting) in support of the university's mission and vision so as to deliver new value to students and to stay ahead of the latest technological developments. In line with a 'normal' KM initiative, we examine how the new learning and teaching initiative was conceived, pushed forward and eventually launched, creating a new multi-disciplinary learning experience for students, instructors and other stakeholders. We explain the knowledge strategy of the course and use I. Nonaka's SECI framework to shed light on selected aspects of the pedagogical approach towards achieving the desired learning outcomes. Overall, the paper intends to make a case for more collaborative knowledge leadership as a strategic enabler of multi-disciplinary knowledge innovation in a rapidly changing higher education landscape.

The purpose of this study is to explore interstitial spaces in higher music education. Interstitial spaces are small-scale settings where individuals interact around common activities. Drawing from the learning experiences of three students, the disparate feelings that students have within the interstices are unpacked. Specifically, we lean on Michel Foucault's notions of power and hierarchy as a way to explore the dynamics in the teaching and learning relationships between students, and how the power that institutional structures might wield could shape the pocket conversations taking place. In the context of higher music education, we explore the ways that such spaces offer special moments where students see themselves in new ways. We explore how Mezirow's theory of transformative learning might latch on to the potential that these interstitial spaces offer. We argue that potentials for transformative learning encounters described by the three students seem to be situated within interstitial spaces. The article considers what it means to be in the peripheral locations of student learning and contributes to the need to revisit interstices as an important location to understand how knowledge and creative interactions can be made in higher music education.

This article explicates the operationalization of a theoretically robust framework in the teaching of business communication at an institute of higher learning. This article reimagines the design of a business communication course that focuses on the coalescence of both decoding and encoding processes of messages as a unified pedagogical approach in teaching business communication. This approach is in contrast with more conventional approaches in designing communication courses, which tend to prioritize one process over the other. Participants in the study acknowledged the instrumentality in the course design in promoting communicative values with real-world impact.

Despite continual upgrades, students tend to use the administrative functions of learning management systems more frequently than their learning applications. As learning management systems morph into next generation digital learning environments that are capable of supporting user accessibility through content creation and curation, integrated systems interoperability, personalised adaptive learning, collaborative learning, and analytics-driven performance management, students' readiness to engage with these system functionalities needs to be considered. Through a survey of 262 Fine Arts majors, this study examines how students use learning management systems and if their desired e-learning experiences correspond to the functional dimensions of next generation digital learning environments. The results show that when students frequently use learning management systems for content learning and discussion, they also desire to engage in student-centred e-learning activities and to use e-learning systems that support content curation, private group management, and mobile interoperability. These findings suggest that students' current experiences shape how they desire to use e-learning systems. To foster student-centred digital learning experiences, both infrastructural upgrades and faculty preparation need to be considered in tandem. The implications of these findings for higher education institutions that are seeking to implement next generation digital learning environments are discussed.

The model of information system success has been used to evaluate students' satisfaction with the system quality, information quality, and service quality of learning management systems. This study extends the model by considering the pedagogical dimensions of instructional quality, learning quality, and interaction quality as well as how perceived usage frequency influences students' quality perceptions. Through a sample of 376 higher education students, this study validated a five-factor quality structure for the evaluation of learning management systems with respect to the perceptions of students of the arts. Regression analyses showed differences among the quality factors that predicted satisfaction for arts students perceiving infrequent, average frequency, and frequent use. Although the quality of instructional experiences predicted satisfaction for all student groups, information quality significantly predicted satisfaction for only infrequent and average frequency users. System quality was a significant predictor of satisfaction for only average frequency and frequent users, whereas only frequent users perceived the quality of learning outcomes to be a significant predictor of satisfaction. The theoretical, instructional, and institutional implications for higher education institutions are discussed.

This longitudinal study examined the contribution of morphological awareness to bilingual word learning of Malay-English bilingual children in Singapore where English is the medium of instruction. Participants took morphological awareness and lexical inference tasks in both English and Malay twice with an interval of about half a year, the first time at the end of Grade 3 (Time 1) and the second time at the end of the first semester of Grade 4 (Time 2). Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses revealed that within both languages, morphological awareness significantly predicted lexical inference at Time 1 as well as Time 2, and the contribution also became strengthened over time. Cross-linguistic SEM analyses showed that concurrently at both Time 1 and Time 2, English morphological awareness only had a significant indirect effect on Malay lexical inference. The exact indirect relationships, however, varied between Time 1 and Time 2. In addition, an indirect effect of Time 1 English morphological awareness on Time 2 Malay lexical inference also surfaced. These findings suggest concurrent as well as longitudinal cross-linguistic transfer of morphological awareness from English to Malay.

In the last 20 years, critical approaches to language and literacy education have established themselves as an academic field, with an abundance of empirical studies applying Critical Literacy principles in classes and curricula at schools and universities. Noticeably absent from the contexts of implementation are courses in Business English and business communication. This article describes and evaluates a small-scale attempt to infuse Critical Language Awareness (CLA) principles into the teaching of a 4-week business communication module at a Singapore polytechnic. The overall framework and activities are discussed, and students' work is evaluated. The analysis traces changes in students' metalinguistic awareness; specifically, their ability to view language as constitutive of social relations, which is argued to be an important component of CLA. The authors emphasize that the disciplinary and institutional contexts, as well as students' disposition toward language, and experience with critical-reflexive dialogues need to be considered before a particular critical approach is implemented. While maintaining that the introduction of CLA in business education may need to be more incremental than in liberal arts settings, the article offers further support for the infusion of critical language awareness in the business domain. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.)

Drawn from Merleau-Ponty's embodiment theory and Vygotsky's sociocultural learning theory as conceptual framework, this research investigated how Singapore adolescent students accrued and embodied meaning with school art. Combining the methods of microethnographic observations and phenomenological interviews to document the process of artistic schooling in situ, the author uncovered playful mindfulness among students while they completed the required skill acquisition in Singapore secondary schools. The seemingly paradoxical nature of playfulness and mindfulness merged to demonstrate students' mindset as well as the characteristics of their learning. For the purpose of expansive sociocultural interpretation, three metaphorical themes emerged: a stretch of adolescent artistry, a leap in advancing artful disposition, and a bow to schooling and enculturation. (Contains 5 figures and 5 endnotes.)

Drawn from Merleau-Ponty's embodiment theory and Vygotsky's sociocultural learning theory as conceptual framework, this research investigated how Singapore adolescent students accrued and embodied meaning with school art. Combining the methods of microethnographic observations and phenomenological interviews to document the process of artistic schooling in situ, the author uncovered playful mindfulness among students while they completed the required skill acquisition in Singapore secondary schools. The seemingly paradoxical nature of playfulness and mindfulness merged to demonstrate students' mindset as well as the characteristics of their learning. For the purpose of expansive sociocultural interpretation, three metaphorical themes emerged: a stretch of adolescent artistry, a leap in advancing artful disposition, and a bow to schooling and enculturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Singapore teenagers draw on improvised humor, erudite playfulness, and enculturated mindfulness to transform school art into a potential dialogic space to construct meanings, develop autonomy, and enhance learning. Digital animations created in school become a way to integrate private concerns and personal interests, translate public and social agendas, resolve complex technical and formal problems, and discharge transgressive fantasy as age-appropriate curiosity. Based on the juxtaposition of students' stories and visuals, research findings also illustrate hidden aspects of adolescents' artistic schooling and demonstrate how advanced technology art offers them opportunity to negotiate existential angst and lived experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]