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Institutionally implemented learning technologies are often not adopted or are underused by academic staff. We aimed to better understand this problem by drawing on the notion of professional identity to explore the challenges academic staff experienced when they were to adopt a replacement learning management system (LMS). We describe a single case study approach in which focus group discussions, workshop evaluation data and documents are analysed. We found that challenges academic staff faced lay in the technology being a threat to professional identity, in the sense-making process, and in the diverse and individually distinct nature of teachers' professional identities. Institutional support offered to facilitate staff adoption appeared not to fully address these challenges. The implications for academic development and technology implementation are explored.

Universities implement Learning Management Systems (LMSs) with the aspiration of improving educational practice. However, LMS adoption by academics within universities vary and frequently falls short of institutional aspirations. In this study, we propose an integrated and adopter--centred professional identity perspective of LMS adoption and empirically validate such a perspective at a New Zealand university where a LMS was implemented. We surveyed 204 academic staff and analysed questionnaire data using structural equation modelling. Results indicate that the adoption of the LMS was associated with professional identity. Variations in aspects of professional identity not only shaped the extent of LMS usage, but was also predictive of qualitatively different ways of using the LMS for teaching. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed based on the research findings.

The Fourth Industrial Age (4IA) is likely to be accompanied simultaneously by an increase in technology-mediated learning and an urgent need for people to learn rapidly, effectively and collaboratively. This study investigates the potential of vicarious learning from videoed tutorials as a pedagogical tool suitable for the challenges of 4IA. Undergraduate Business students observed videos of student tutees responding to tutor prompts as they tackled open-ended and conceptually challenging problems. The results revealed that student observers self-reported: gains in their conceptual understanding from watching videoed tutorials; preferences for watching tutorial dialogues over alternative learning methods; and that watching videoed tutorials had positive impacts on their affect and access to additional learning-related information. The study concludes that vicarious learning from videoed tutorials is an accessible technology-mediated pedagogy that is achievable by mainstream educators and is effective in developing conceptual understanding, engaging students and providing access to additional learning-related information.

There is a growing demand for advanced education from mature learners who seek postgraduate qualifications whilst maintaining career and family responsibilities, but recent research has identified concerns regarding their well-being. This study assesses students' emotional well-being and examines how well-being is associated with the way students learn and the grades they receive. In a survey of 206 part-time postgraduate students who worked for 30 or more hours a week, we assessed activated aspects of affective well-being (in the form of self-reported anxiety and enthusiasm), learning behaviour, and grades. We observed positive relationships between anxiety, enthusiasm, and learning behaviour and grades. Our results suggest that learning behaviour mediates the relationship between positively activated well-being (enthusiasm) and grades and that negatively activated emotional well-being (anxiety) moderates the effect of lifelong learning on grades. The implications for theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educators are responsible for developing generic graduate capabilities, but the theoretical justification for teaching techniques is infrequently articulated. This conceptual paper aims to provide theory-informed principles to guide teaching practice in developing future-focused generic capabilities. The paper describes future-focused generic capabilities and then considers how cognitive constructivist, transformational and social learning theories inform the development of these capabilities. From these theories, four principles (4Es) for teaching generic capabilities are identified: students need to 1) be Enthused to develop personally relevant generic capabilities, 2) have opportunities to Explore by intellectually and emotionally connecting learning to processes, topics and situations, 3) develop by purposefully Extending their capabilities within varied and progressively more complex contexts, and 4) be given opportunities to Exhibit their capabilities. We contend that the development of generic capabilities can be informed by this set of principles. By unearthing and researching them, educators can become more versatile, informed, and impactful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proactivity is important to individual success, particularly where individuals face significant obstacles and where formal support may be lacking or difficult to access. The study tracks mature students over a one-semester university preparation course designed for returners to learning. Measures of proactivity included proactive personality, confidence to perform proactive learning behaviors and frequency of proactive behaviors. While measures of proactive personality remained relatively stable, we observed increases in both confidence to perform and the frequency of proactive behaviors over time. At the end of semester these three variables were predictive of a number of outcomes including self-assessed self-directed learning, the taking of a mastery approach to learning, and grades. We argue that issues of proactivity are under-researched in higher education. The implications for course structure and student support are discussed.

Few studies have assessed the particular relationships between students' emotional well-being, both positive and negative and their learning. This study followed a cohort of mature students through their first semester at university. Four dimensions of emotional well-being were captured (enthusiasm, contentment, anxiety and depression) at three points in time during the semester. In addition, at the end of the semester, assessments were made of learning behaviours, affect and academic achievement. Emotional well-being fluctuated during the semester and each of the four dimensions exhibited a unique and predictive pattern of relationships with the suite of outcome measures. The findings highlight the importance of emotional well-being in shaping active engagement in learning and in determining affective and academic outcomes. The results are interpreted and the implications for the design of learning environments and teaching practice are outlined.

This paper examines the extent of patients' health-related learning from a range of sources and aims to identify psycho-cognitive variables that predict learning. Using a survey design, we found that people higher in perceived health competence were lower in anxiety and took a more logical approach to decision making. Low perceived health competence was associated with avoidant decision making. Levels of learning were predicted by perceived health competence, decision-making orientations and anxiety. Perceived health competence was a significant positive predictor of both learning from health professionals and of learning from other sources, such as the internet. Rational decision-making orientation and anxiety, however, were not associated with learning from medical professionals but were predictive of levels of learning from other sources. Highly dependent decision makers reported learning more from their medical professionals. The implications for theory and practice are explored. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

An accepted role of universities is to prepare students for their careers and lives. However, what should or could be taught and how, in order to better prepare students for their futures, is contested. In this study, we interviewed 18 New Zealand university teachers about their experiences of developing students' employability capabilities within university courses. By adopting activity theory as a theoretical framework, we identified an activity system that was experienced by university teachers and multiple contradictions within the activity system. Our study showed the uncertainties and disparities in views regarding the employability capabilities students need, the limited pedagogical tools for developing employability capabilities, and the role of organisational drivers in leveraging the delivery of disciplinary knowledge and the development of employability capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The popularity of online learning provides higher education institutions with opportunities to deliver remote educational programs for international students who remain in their home countries but enroll in overseas universities. Yet the voices of offshore international students (OISs) have been rarely heard. This study focuses on the stress experiences of OISs, aiming to investigate the perception of stressors, specific responses, and stress management strategies pertaining to distress (negative stress) and eustress (positive stress). Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted in two phases with 18 Chinese postgraduate OISs enrolled in a range of institutions and disciplines. Interviews took place online and were analyzed thematically to explore participants’ experiences. Results: Stress was found to originate from both socially- and task-based factors, closely related to participants’ need to integrate into their on-campus community and gain useful knowledge and skills. Particular sources of stress were associated with distinct perceptions and subsequent responses and management strategies. Discussion: A summarizing theoretical model is offered to highlight the separate construct of distress and eustress, indicating tentative causal relationships to extend existing stress models to an educational context and provide new insights into OISs. Practical implications are identified and recommendations are provided for policy-makers, teachers, and students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within New Zealand, Adult and Community Education providers are facing radical reductions in government support. Providers are reacting in different ways with many being forced to withdraw from offering non-credit education at affordable rates. This paper explores the likely consequences, in terms of changes in learner profile, of efforts to maintain the viability of programs through increased fees. The research explores strategies for maintaining student numbers and access despite substantial fee increases. The work is based on a survey of over 550 university community education learners and uses approaches derived from consumer decision-making research. The results suggest that fee increases will contribute to a shift towards community education being an activity limited to the better off but that measures are available that will go some way to safeguard learner numbers and access. (Contains 6 tables.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and evidence a means of improving decision making within a sustainable resource management context. Design/methodology/approach: A set of competencies required by effective decision makers is developed. Methods of improving decision making are reviewed and used to develop a continuing education programme that addressed each competency. Following piloting, 1,300 lay and professional decision makers are trained and assessed. Findings: It is possible to capture the skills required of decision makers and to develop decision-making performance within relatively short courses. Practical implications: To be of any real value education for sustainability must not only increase awareness and knowledge but must also impact on decision making. The paper argues for an explicit consideration of decision making in learning design and describes the use of techniques that can be readily appropriated by others. Originality/value: The paper demonstrates the effectiveness of training in decision making delivered to a wide range of practitioners. The paper also illustrates the contribution universities can make in working to improve sustainability outcomes through continuing education at a national level. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

In New Zealand there are four university-based centres for continuing education which provide non-credit short courses. This paper presents data from a survey which was conducted with the intention of building understanding of the cohort of learners who attend short non-credit courses, to better understand their views and values and to determine whether there was a readiness or need to follow the trends apparent in overseas departments of continuing education. Policy and funding structures in New Zealand have favoured traditional delivery methods and non-credit learning. The survey of learners indicated a readiness for technology-enabled learning and interest in attaining recognition for learning. The study provides a valuable insight into an often invisible cohort of university learners and exposes important contrasts between common perceptions of adult "leisure" learners and our survey results. (Contains 3 tables and 6 figures.)

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore approaches to learning in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach: Computer based questionnaires are used with a sample of over 300 employees. Findings: Using a version of the Revised Approaches to Study Inventory (RASI) adapted to workforce development, the factor structure of deep, surface and strategic approaches was obtained. Differences in approaches to learning as measured by the RASI were associated with training and learning histories, reasons for engaging in training, perceptions of current skill level and self reported development needs. Practical implications: It is argued that the notion that approaches to learning impact on success in a given degree course and/or are context/teaching style dependent under represents the impact that approaches to learning may have on workplace learning. Originality/value: The study demonstrates that the adapted RASI can be used with employees and that its principal psychometric properties reflect those reported for student samples. (Contains 7 tables.)

Data from 56 employees before and after training were collected, stored, and collated in a computerized evaluation system. Results suggest that learning takes place within complex social systems with multiple influential variables. Evaluation strategies should incorporate organizational variables and both qualitative and quantitative measures. (SK)

Describes the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in nurse education at the University of Wales Bangor. Explains the evaluation strategy for a longitudinal study of ICT, summarizes emerging trends in learning evaluation, discusses best practices in evaluation, and considers the expanding role of the evaluator. (Author/LRW)

Institutionally implemented learning technologies are often not adopted or are underused by academic staff. We aimed to better understand this problem by drawing on the notion of professional identity to explore the challenges academic staff experienced when they were to adopt a replacement learning management system (LMS). We describe a single case study approach in which focus group discussions, workshop evaluation data and documents are analysed. We found that challenges academic staff faced lay in the technology being a threat to professional identity, in the sense-making process, and in the diverse and individually distinct nature of teachers' professional identities. Institutional support offered to facilitate staff adoption appeared not to fully address these challenges. The implications for academic development and technology implementation are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities implement Learning Management Systems (LMSs) with the aspiration of improving educational practice. However, LMS adoption by academics within universities vary and frequently falls short of institutional aspirations. In this study, we propose an integrated and adopter–centred professional identity perspective of LMS adoption and empirically validate such a perspective at a New Zealand university where a LMS was implemented. We surveyed 204 academic staff and analysed questionnaire data using structural equation modelling. Results indicate that the adoption of the LMS was associated with professional identity. Variations in aspects of professional identity not only shaped the extent of LMS usage, but was also predictive of qualitatively different ways of using the LMS for teaching. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed based on the research findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Learning technologies are ubiquitous in medical schools, implemented in anticipation of more effective, active and authentic learning and teaching. Such thinking appears to be an instance of solutionism. The evidence is that academics' adoption of learning technologies is often limited in scale and scope and frequently fails to transform their teaching practices. Purpose: This paper aims to provide a contextualised analysis of considerations pertinent to the adoption of learning technologies by teaching staff. We contextualise a framework for understanding adoption of learning technologies in higher education by medical education. Conclusions: We identify multiple precursors that predict individual patterns of adoption, illuminating factors related to the technology, the individual staff member charged with adoption and the working environment. We offer conceptual clarity to the vexed issue of learning technology adoption and provide evidence explaining why, despite their widely promulgated potential, learning technologies do not offer an easy route to the transformation of medical education. If you build it will they learn? The authors explore why simply making learning technologies available does not optimize educational transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have assessed the particular relationships between students' emotional well-being, both positive and negative and their learning. This study followed a cohort of mature students through their first semester at university. Four dimensions of emotional well-being were captured (enthusiasm, contentment, anxiety and depression) at three points in time during the semester. In addition, at the end of the semester, assessments were made of learning behaviours, affect and academic achievement. Emotional well-being fluctuated during the semester and each of the four dimensions exhibited a unique and predictive pattern of relationships with the suite of outcome measures. The findings highlight the importance of emotional well-being in shaping active engagement in learning and in determining affective and academic outcomes. The results are interpreted and the implications for the design of learning environments and teaching practice are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]