Universities and their teachers are more than ever required to (re)design their courses considering online environments. Although face-to-face teaching remains fundamental, exploring online... Show moreUniversities and their teachers are more than ever required to (re)design their courses considering online environments. Although face-to-face teaching remains fundamental, exploring online alternatives is becoming increasingly necessary. Still, how can university teacher designers proceed with such a change in their courses? What is the most effective way to design an online course? How can university teacher designers attract the attention of students and make teaching interesting and compelling? Evidence-Based Blended and Online Learning: Course Design for University Teachers answers these questions. It provides a thorough evidence-based overview of each step required to make an effective course redesign.The book is aimed at teachers and, more significantly, teacher designers committed to redesigning their courses based on solid principles. The book’s design approach makes it much easier to translate the results of educational research on applying blended learning in educational practice.Jan Nedermeijer has worked as an educational expert for several universities and as a senior expert for PUM Netherlands in several countries. The book synthesises the results of the numerous course- and curriculum-development projects he has conducted over many years. His approach can help university teachers implement IT in feasible, practical and interesting ways.Evidence-Based Blended and Online Learning gives lecturers tailor-made pedagogical suggestions for designing modern higher education. Course design tasks are re-described, using features from technical design, problem solving, and design thinking, where creative design has a unique and essential role. Show less
Motivation: Higher education is regarded as a key instrument to enhance socioeconomic mobility andreduce inequalities. Recent literature reviews have examined inequalities in the... Show moreMotivation: Higher education is regarded as a key instrument to enhance socioeconomic mobility andreduce inequalities. Recent literature reviews have examined inequalities in the higher education systemsof high-income countries, but less is known about the situation in low- and middle-income countries,where higher education is expanding fast.Purpose: The article reviews the academic literature on higher education in low- and middle-incomecountries using a research framework inspired by social justice and capability approaches. It considers the financial, socio-cultural, human, and political resource domains on which people draw, and how they relate to access, participation, and outcomes in higher education.Methods: A literature search for studies explicitly discussing in-country inequalities in higher education revealed 22 publications. Substantial knowledge gaps remain, especially regarding the political (and decision-making) side of inequalities; the ideologies and philosophies underpinning higher education systems; and the linkages between resource domains, both micro and macro.Findings: The review highlights key elements for policy-makers and researchers: (1) the financial lens alone is insufficient to understand and tackle inequalities, since these are also shaped by human and other non-financial factors; (2) socio-cultural constructs are central in explaining unequal outcomes; and (3) inequalities develop throughout one’s life and need to be considered during, but also before and afterhigher education. The scope of inequalities is wide, and the literature offers a few ideas for short-term fixes such as part-time and online education.Policy implications: Inclusive policy frameworks for higher education should include explicit goals related to (in)equality, which are best measured in terms of the extent to which certain actions or choices are feasible for all. Policies in these frameworks, we argue, should go beyond providing financial support, and also address socio-cultural and human resource constraints and challenges in retention, performance, and labour market outcomes. Finally, they should consider relevant contextual determinants of inequalities. Show less
Dix, G.; Kaltenbrunner, W.; Tijdink, J.K.; Valkenburg, G.; Rijcke, S. de 2020
Marketization and quantification have become ingrained in academia over the past few decades. The trust in numbers and incentives has led to a proliferation of devices that individualize, induce,... Show moreMarketization and quantification have become ingrained in academia over the past few decades. The trust in numbers and incentives has led to a proliferation of devices that individualize, induce, benchmark, and rank academic performance. As an instantiation of that trend, this article focuses on the establishment and contestation of ‘algorithmic allocation’ at a Dutch university medical centre. Algorithmic allocation is a form of data-driven automated reasoning that enables university administrators to calculate the overall research budget of a department without engaging in a detailed qualitative assessment of the current content and future potential of its research activities. It consists of a range of quantitative performance indicators covering scientific publications, peer recognition, PhD supervision, and grant acquisition. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and document analysis, we contrast the attempt to build a rationale for algorithmic allocation—citing unfair advantage, competitive achievement, incentives, and exchange—with the attempt to challenge that rationale based on existing epistemic differences between departments. From the specifics of the case, we extrapolate to considerations of epistemic and market fairness that might equally be at stake in other attempts to govern the production of scientific knowledge in a quantitative and market-oriented way.Keywords algorithmic allocation; higher education; marketization; performance indicators; quantification; resource allocation Show less
Huisman, B.A.; Saab, N.; Driel, J.H. van; Broek, P.W. van den 2017
There does not appear to be consensus on how to optimally match students during the peer feedback process: with same-ability peers (homogeneously) or different-ability peers (heterogeneously). In... Show moreThere does not appear to be consensus on how to optimally match students during the peer feedback process: with same-ability peers (homogeneously) or different-ability peers (heterogeneously). In fact, there appears to be no empirical evidence that either homogeneous or heterogeneous student matching has any direct effect on writing performance. The current study addressed this issue in the context of an academic writing task. Adopting a quasi-experimental design, 94 undergraduate students were matched in 47 homogeneous or heterogeneous reciprocal dyads, and provided anonymous, formative peer feedback on each other’s draft essays. The relations between students’ individual ability or dyad composition, feedback quality and writing performance were investigated. Neither individual ability nor dyad composition directly related to writing performance. Also, feedback quality did not depend on students’ individual ability or dyad composition, although trends in the data suggest that high-ability reviewers provided more content-related feedback. Finally, peer feedback quality was not related to writing performance, and authors of varying ability levels benefited to a similar extent from peer feedback on different aspects of the text. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for the instructional design of academic writing assignments that incorporate peer feedback. Show less
Huisman, B.A.; Saab, N.; Driel, J.H. van; Broek, P.W. van den 2016
By tracking the changing nature of wasta, or personal intermediation, in the Khartoum labour market, this paper examines the impact of Islamist policies on state-society relations in Khartoum,... Show moreBy tracking the changing nature of wasta, or personal intermediation, in the Khartoum labour market, this paper examines the impact of Islamist policies on state-society relations in Khartoum, Sudan. It argues that economic liberalisation and higher education expansion weakened sectarian control over the economy, replacing the former institutionalised system of privilege with a much more decentralised, private and transnational structure. The conclusion asks whether these policies have laid the groundwork for long-term political transformation. While education expansion and liberalisation should theoretically allow a regime to broaden patronage networks, they may also reduce the capacity of both the regime and the private sector to exercise power and establish predictability outwards. Show less
Boeren, A.; Dietz, A.J.; Simons, C.; Vink, N. de 2014
The Dutch government has been supporting higher education in developing countries through cooperation between Dutch higher education and training institutes and partner organizations in the... Show moreThe Dutch government has been supporting higher education in developing countries through cooperation between Dutch higher education and training institutes and partner organizations in the developing countries since the late 1960s.Various programmes have been implemented but the aim in all of them has been to build and strengthen the education and training capacity of organizations/institutes.The map depicts Dutch cooperation programmes to strenghten post-secondary education and training in Africa (1996-2013). Show less
