ST

CATCH 21
CENTURY SKILLS
Teaching Materials

Communication / Collaboration / Critical Thinking / Self-Direction

Creativity and Innovation / Making Global and Local Connections
Using Technology as a Tool for Learning

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CATCH 21ST CENTURY SKILLS - Teaching Materials

Editorial board: Ing. Karel Němejc, Ph.D. Mehmet Emin Bakay, Ph.D.

Review: Prof. Dr. Serhat Burmaoğlu, Prof. Virginia Larraz Rada

Book cover: Ing. Barbora Jordánová

Publisher: Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Institute of Education and Communication

Issue: 200 copies

Edition: First, 2021

This publication is not for sale.

ISBN 978-80-213-3076-4

© Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

© Authors of the modules

The European Commission's support for the production of this

publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents,
which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission
cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the
information contained therein.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

LECTURE 1: TIME, SPACE AND COMMUNICATION: TECHNOLOGICAL

PARADIGMS ............................................................................................................................... 10
LECTURE 2: INFORMALISATION AND COMMUNICATION ......................................... 14
LECTURE 3: ORALITY VERSUS LITERACY / LITERACY VERSUS VISUALITY ........... 18
LECTURE 4: LANGUAGE SENSITIVITY IN COMMUNICATION SKILLS ..................... 22
LECTURE 5: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: GESTURES AND MANNERS .......... 26
LECTURE 6: EFFECTIVE VERBAL COMMUNICATION AND PRESENTATION SKILLS
IN DIGITAL AGE ........................................................................................................................ 31
LECTURE 1: THE ELEMENTS OF COLLABORATION AND COLLABORATION
PROCESS ...................................................................................................................................... 38
LECTURE 2: THE PROCESS OF BEING A CAPABLE TEAM ............................................. 45
LECTURE 3: COLLABORATION IN THE DIGITAL ERA ................................................... 58
LECTURE 4: IMPROVING AND ENCOURAGING COLLABORATION SKILLS ........... 61
LECTURE 1: DEFINITIONS, THEORIES AND MODELS OF CRITICAL THINKING .... 70
LECTURE 2: STRATEGIES TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS TO ENHANCE CRITICAL
THINKING ................................................................................................................................... 74
LECTURE 3: DIFFERENT TYPES OF ARGUMENTATIONS, PRE-CONCEPTIONS AND
STRENGTHS OF ARGUMENTATIONS ................................................................................. 79
LECTURE 4: FALSE CRITICAL THINKING AND COGNITIVE BIAS .............................. 85
LECTURE 5: USE OF CRITICAL THINKING IN ORDER TO IMPROVE ACADEMIC
RESULTS ....................................................................................................................................... 89
LECTURE 6: APPLYING CRITICAL THINKING TO CONCRETE PROFESSIONAL
PROBLEMS AND PRACTICAL CASES IN THE REAL WORLD........................................ 91
LECTURE 1: SELF-DIRECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS' SELF-
DIRECTED LEARNING SKILLS............................................................................................... 98
LECTURE 2: THE ROLE OF EMOTION IN SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING .................... 104
LECTURE 3: SELF-REFLECTION AND METACOGNITION IN SELF-REGULATED
LEARNING ................................................................................................................................ 109
LECTURE 4: TEACHER EVALUATION IN THE PROCESS OF SELF-REGULATED
LEARNING ................................................................................................................................ 114
LECTURE 5: STUDY TASKS AND SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS IN HIGHER
EDUCATION ............................................................................................................................. 117
LECTURE 6: TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR ESTABLISHING AND SUPPORT OF SELF-
REGULATED LEARNING....................................................................................................... 124
LECTURE 1: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES AND MODELS OF CREATIVITY AND
INNOVATION........................................................................................................................... 136
LECTURE 2: STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES TO ENHANCE CREATIVITY ........... 145
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LECTURE 3: METHODS AND TOOLS TO ENCOURAGE INNOVATION SKILLS ..... 149
LECTURE 4: APPLYING INNOVATIVE THINKING METHODS AND TECHNIQUES
INTO ACTUAL PRACTICES................................................................................................... 152
LECTURE 5: TACTICS AND STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP CREATIVE PROCESSES ... 155
LECTURE 6: CREATIVE PERSPECTIVE AND INNOVATIVE OUTLOOK TO COMPLEX
CHALLENGES .......................................................................................................................... 158
LECTURE 1: UNDERSTANDING CURRENT GLOBALIZATION: CONNECTING
GLOBAL AND LOCAL ............................................................................................................ 169
LECTURE 2: POPULATION & GLOBALIZATION ............................................................. 172
LECTURE 3: ACTIVE GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP ................................................................... 178
LECTURE 4: HUMAN RIGHTS .............................................................................................. 181
LECTURE 5: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE .................. 187
LECTURE 6: CASE STUDY ...................................................................................................... 193
LECTURE 1: COMPETENCES BASED LEARNING ............................................................ 202
LECTURE 2: DIGITAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES ...................................................... 210
LECTURE 3: LEARNING PLANS........................................................................................... 215
LECTURE 4: DIGITAL ENVIRONMENTS AND TOOLS FOR LEARNING ................... 221
LECTURE 5: DIGITAL TOOLS FOR (SELF-) EVALUATION AND (SELF-) ASSESSMENT
OF LEARNING .......................................................................................................................... 228
LECTURE 6: DIGITAL COMPETENCE FRAMEWORKS AND LEARNING PLANS IN
ACTION ...................................................................................................................................... 236
ANNEX - LIST OF DIGITAL TOOLS FOR LEARNING ..................................................... 244
21ST CENTURY SKILLS SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVIST DIDACTIC GUIDE ..................... 256
PROFILE OF THE AUTHORS ................................................................................................. 282

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 PROJECT COORDINATOR‘S FOREWORD

The European Commission (2019) concluded that the European labour market is
constantly evolving. The skills, competencies and qualifications that people need in
order to succeed in the labour market are changing over time. To cope with these
developments, people have to be fitted with a number of skills, including literacy,
numeracy and digital skills. Managerial job seekers need to possess a broader set of
competencies i.e. critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. Education and
training play a vital role in supporting young people in the development of their
soft skills and competencies for civic and professional success.

European educational managers, scientists and academic staff have raised the
following questions: Do we have the appropriate methodology and curriculum to
improve 21st Century professional and civic skills? It would be optimistic to say yes.
However, a lot of universities do not offer concrete courses and any curricula to
meet this demand.

The international team of the Erasmus+ project, named CATCH 21st Century
Skills, is currently developing a set of intellectual outputs in order to eradicate this
lack of instruction, to help university students to develop their 21 st Century
professional and civic skills. This publication is one of them. The teaching materials
are based on social constructivist methodology, and consist of contributions from
authors of six European educational institutions. Seven teaching modules guide
academic staff on how to contribute to improving the soft skills of their students.
The didactic guide is the second part and complementary to this publication. This
guide supports teaching the seven modules included in the first part of this
publication and presents the most relevant activating teaching methods. I am
thankful to all contributors to this publication.

Dr. Mehmet Emin Bakay

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 EDITOR‘S FOREWORD

We undoubtedly live in a time when we voluntarily, or inevitably, cope with

various, rapidly changing situations that the world around is bringing. In this
regard, it is necessary to find meaningful ways to deal with them effectively.
Moreover, with the increasing speed and supply of information of all kinds and
formats, newer generations are becoming more helpless in being information
literate and intellectually competent, which has been noticed, in a long-term
perspective, by their potential employers. According to many international studies,
and recently also based on research conducted by partner universities, it is more
than clear that students, and applicants in the labour market, lack key skills
resulting in a skills gap.

The growing demand of employers and the incresing importance of 21st Century
Skills led the partner universities to the idea of finding and creating a suitable
means to bridge this existing skills gap, focusing their attention on Communication,
Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Self-Direction, Creativity and Innovation, Making
Global and Local Connections, and Using Technology for Learning. For this reason,
you are currently getting acquainted with a publication “CATCH 21st Century
Skills: Teaching Materials” as an output of the ERASMUS+ programme KA2 -
Strategic partnership aimed at increasing the quality of Higher Education
Institutions (HEI) at the EU level in teaching the 21st Century Skills, in order to
promote a better understanding of qualifications and make better use of available
skills in the European labour market.

Teachning materials are divided into seven modules processed by the participating
partner universities. Each module consists of six lessons providing an introduction
to the issue, theoretical background, practical aspects of the issue, and activation
tools, such as tasks and questions for the readers (university students). The
contribution of the publication is enriched with an insight into the real environment

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through the results of the analysis of the Market Research focused on its needs
across the partner countries and the identification of the most needed 21st Century
Skills, which clearly emerged from the surveys. Furthermore, the publication
provides guidelines on the 21st Century Skills transforming key findings of the
labour market research into the didactic process in order to increase the quality,
potential, know-how and competences of HEI teaching staff.

I wish that the publication is beneficial to you, and that it helps to contribute to a
successful learning supporting the acquisition of the 21st Century Skills - so unique,
more essential than ever before, and, so crucial as the future for career success in
this millennium.

Karel Němejc, Ph.D.

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8
 İrem Özgören Kinli – Emin M. Bakay

TEACHING MODULE 1

Communication

MOTTO: „The World is a global village.”

Marshall McLuhan

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 LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF THE MODULE
After completing this module, learners will be able
 to understand the impact of communication on society in 21th
century,
 to discuss the effective ways of communication in a digitalized world,
 to assess how informalization concept may help to understand forms
of modern communication,
 to learn media, visual and digital literacy,
 to demonstrate how language sensitivity improves communication,
 to explore the latest effective verbal communication and presentation
techniques,
 to illustrate how to improve nonverbal communication techniques.

LECTURE 1: TIME, SPACE AND COMMUNICATION:

TECHNOLOGICAL PARADIGMS

INTRODUCTION
There are at least two definitions of the term communication, which
seem to have gained wider acceptance in the literature.
Communication as (1): “a process by which A sends a message to B
upon whom it has an effect” and as (2): “negotiation and exchange of meaning, in
which messages, people-in-cultures and ‘reality’ interact so as to enable meaning to
be produced or understanding to occur” (O’Sullivan, Hartley, Saunders & Fiske,
1993, p. 42). Therefore, the aim of communication is to help the actors (receiver and
the sender of the message) to achieve the set target.
While classical studies focus on the aim and the types of communication,
technological paradigms in communication research rise the question to what
extent can new tools of communication play a founding role in shaping social
relations. Technological advancements in communication have always had social,

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cultural, economic and political effects on societies. On this point, Marshall
McLuhan explains how technology shapes our environment and changes the course
of human life as well. He powerfully demonstrated the impact of technology over
the ways of communication and reception of messages. This lecture will explore
how Marshall McLuhan, as a theorist of technological culture, may help us to make
sense of our new digital age. Correspondingly, by following McLuhan’s
technological determinism, we will be able to identify the impact of new
communication technologies on social interaction and discourse.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) is a Canadian communication
theorist whose works are considered classics in media, culture and
technology theory. He argues that all media are extension of man,
thus extensions of our senses. In his studies, he focuses on how we experience the
world, not on what we experience (thus not on the content). His ideas represent the
best examples of technological determinism, which emphasizes the influence of
technology on society’s communication. His legacy has enriched our
understanding the dynamics of technological transitions in media and
communication.

Medium is the message

He coined this famous dictum: “Medium is the message” (McLuhan, 1964, p. 23).
This statement means that the form of a message (the channel through which a
message is transmitted) determines the ways in which that message will be
understood.
This dictum has more than one meaning. On the one hand, a medium imposes a
new environment, and it has its own impact on our perceptions and sensibilities,
which are its unique message. On the other hand, a medium configures its content
or message. For instance, a play shown on television influences its viewers
differently from the original version.

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Hot versus cool media
McLuhan proposes to categorise the media as hot and cool. This distinction
addresses to the different sensory effects linked to higher or lower definition of
media.
He defines the hot media as those, which are rich in sensory data. Hot media are
high definition or resolution. There are a few left to be completed by the receiver.
Participation is, therefore, low in hot media. Here are a few illustrative examples:
Radio, print, photographs, movies and lectures, etc.
He describes the term cool media as those, which are low in sensory data. Cool
media are low in definition, while they are high in participation to complete the
lacking information. They require a higher sensory involvement and an active
participation of the audience, since they do not provide large amounts of data on
the receiver. He exemplifies cool media as television, telephone, cartoons, speech,
seminar, mystery novel and manuscript, etc. Although McLuhan did not focus on
computer-mediated communication tools in 1960s, it is possible to argue that
computer screens and computer activities might be conceptualized as cool medium.
In this respect, social media may be exemplified as a cool medium since it requires
active participation and engagement of its users.

Global Village
McLuhan coined the term Global Village in the 1960s. In his book The Gutenberg
Galaxy (1962), he argues that people throughout the world are increasingly
interconnected to each other by modern telecommunications. He claims that the
whole world is considered as being economically, socially, and politically
interdependent through the usage of new media technologies in the image of a
global village.

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 Picture 1: United Nation’s COVID-19 tweet
Source: UN’s official twitter account; 2020, 16 May

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Since novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is a global health emergency,
United Nations frequently share information on the outbreak via
mass media. The screenshot (in the tweet on the Picture 1) taken from
UN’s official twitter account on May 16th, 2020 is an illustrative example of effective
ways of communication in a digitalized world. As the world is a global village,
according to McLuhan’s terminology, we use more visuals (or emojis) and less
words to create more impact. Popular social communication networks dictate the
way how we communicate.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Find an actual example of a natural disaster. How a Broadcasting
Corporation (such as BBC) announces their press release differently via

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 radio, television, Facebook and Twitter. Compare print media, visual
media and social media as a disaster news medium by making reference to
statements made by Marshall McLuhan.

CONCLUSION
McLuhan made great methodological contributions to technological
issues in media and communication. His main interest is the impact
of modern telecommunication on individual’s self-consciousness
and behaviour. The legacy of his reflections on technology helps to determine
direction of discussions and the effective ways of communication in a digitalized
world. He has contributed as well to our understanding of technological and
cultural causes of globalisation.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. How Marshall McLuhan explains the impact of communication on
society in 21st century?
2. What does Marshall McLuhan mean by his aphorism: “The medium is
the message”?
3. How does Marshall McLuhan define hot media and cool media?
4. What did Marshal McLuhan mean when he argued: “The World is a
global village?”

LECTURE 2: INFORMALISATION AND

COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION
Formalisation refers to a tendency towards standardization of rules
and regulations, as well as written and unwritten policies and
procedures in modern societies. In contrast to this, informalisation
signifies an inclination towards fragmentation and deregulation. We are now
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experiencing new waves of informalization in various spheres of social and
business life. Informalization process have also been witnessed in the field of media
and communication. It is growing presence of increasingly unregulated ways of
communication and atypical forms of interaction. Likewise, it is the incorporation
of features of familiar and intimate personal discourse into formal and public types
of spoken and written communication.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Formalisation
Norbert Elias’s theory of the Civilizing Process (first publication in
1939) focuses on the process of formalising manners and
disciplining of people and their emotions. The theory argues that a long-term
process of formalisation has been dominant from the sixteenth up to the last quarter
of the nineteenth century. In the West, until the end of nineteenth century, Elias
demonstrates a consistent trend towards the formalisation of manners during
which the code of manners became increasingly detailed and strict giving rise to a
particular type of self-regulation.

Informalisation
The concept of informalisation which was coined by Cas Wouters in an article (in
Dutch) entitled “Has the civilising process changed direction?” in 1976.
Informalisation denotes the transformation of human relations in Western
industrialised nation-states as a result of changing power balance between
different social classes, sexes and generations over the last century. It describes
increased forms of emotional and behavioural alternatives. It signals the gradual
decrease of power, status and wealth differences between social groups and the
softening of manners with the further equalisation of social conditions. Currently,
the process of informalisation enables greater sensitivity to nuances, increasing
variety of behavioural and emotional ways of expressions and thus implied a
greater flexibility in social conduct.

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Informalisation process in communication
Computer mediated channels of communication allow its users to establish online
communication via instant messaging, e-mail and other social networks whereas
offline communication requires face to face contact or personal interaction in a
physical space, in which people can hear and see each other. Modern technology
dominates our communication. Information is processed easily and quickly in
digital age thanks to new communication tools such as social media, direct
message, instant message, SMS text messaging, e-mail marketing, direct email,
blogging, voice calling, video chat, video marketing, live web chat, and virtual
reality, etc.
The technological revolutions opened up new modes of communication. Some
authors claim that computer mediated communication in English, usually, has oral
qualities (Murray, 1991; Baron, 1998; Crystal, 2001). The long-term shift towards
orality in English has been accelerated by technological transformations and there
is a tendency towards orality in computer mediated communication.
Fairclough, in his “Critical Discourse Analysis”, focuses on the processes of
informalisation and technologisation of discourse. He argues that, “in modern
discourse practices, there are more and more mixtures of formal and informal
styles, technical and non-technical vocabularies, markers of authority and
familiarity, more typically written and more typically spoken syntactic forms”
(Fairclough, 1995, p. 79), as the differences between oral and written forms of
expressions become blurred.
Sharon Goodman (1996, p. 146) argues that the processes of marketisation and
informalisation are becoming increasingly widespread. According to her, language
has adapted to the rapid changes in communication technology, and people started
to feel the urge to learn new linguistic strategies to be a successful business person.
She argues that people become “producers of promotional texts”. In this context,
she describes the term informalisation as the process during which informal ways
of communication that are traditionally reserved for intimate relationships are now
used in wider social contexts. Additionally, more informal type of language
become widespread in every aspect of life.

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 PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
On March 10, 2017, Robert E. Kelly, a professor of political science,
had a live interview on Skype with a BBC correspondent about the
impeachment of South Korea’s president and the future of the country’s
relationship with North Korea. The interview was interrupted by his children and
the moment became a viral meme. Although this seems to be very exceptional, we
might experience these kinds of incidence more than ever in this era of
informalization.

Picture 2: BBC News - Children interrupt BBC News interview [Video]

Source: YouTube (2017, Mar. 10), https://youtu.be/Mh4f9AYRCZY

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Find at least three public service announcements which adopt an informal
or conversational style of language.

CONCLUSION
Computer mediated communication along with market-oriented
culture has transformed our communication skills. There is a high
tendency towards the usage of less formal, often spoken language
and increased use of more informal vocabulary and slangs in all types of
communication. Political actors, organisations and institutions have started to
communicate with people by mixtures of formal and informal styles in their social

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media accounts. As a result of frequent usage of computer mediated
communication, the trend towards deregulation became popular more than ever.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. How do technological innovations change the communication styles?
2. How can you define the informalization process in commu-
nication?
3. Can you give some actual examples for illustrating the
informalisation trend that is mostly visible in social media
accounts of some politicians?
4. How informalization concept may help to understand new forms
of modern communication?

LECTURE 3: ORALITY VERSUS LITERACY / LITERACY

VERSUS VISUALITY

INTRODUCTION
Literacy is defined as the ability to read and write, while orality
describes cultures that are unfamiliar with the technologies of
writing. Walter Ong contributes to orality-literacy debate by coining
the term ‘the second orality’, which incorporates some elements from both writing
and orality mode. Thereafter, this debate led to the emergence of another discussion
between literacy and visuality.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
In his classical work, Walter Ong (1982) compares oral cultures with
literate ones. He defines the oral cultures, as the ones which are
untouched by writing. He calls the kind of culture as primary oral
culture. In this pre-literate culture, words have no visuality, they have presence just
with sounds.
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In a primary oral culture, expression and thought tend to be:
 additive rather than subordinate,
 aggregative rather than analytical,
 copious and redundant,
 conservative and highly traditionalist,
 close to the human lifeworld,
 agonistically toned,
 empathetic and participatory rather than objectively distanced,
 homeostatic,
 situational rather than abstract.

Oral narrative style adds one sentence to another, rather than relating them in
analytical or causal ways. Since the survival of oral culture depends on the basis of
what is remembered, it depends on established form of words or symbols to
implement memory. In order to increase the concreteness of the image, it tends to
include formulaic expressions, adjectives, epithets, standardized themes, clichés,
maxims and copious repetitions.

Secondary Orality
Secondary orality is a concept which was firstly described by Walter Ong in his
book “Rhetoric, Romance, and Technology” in 1971. He developed this concept in
his famous book “Orality and Literacy” in 1982. According to him, “secondary
orality is essentially a more deliberate and self-conscious orality, based
permanently on the use of writing and print” (Ong, 1982, p. 133). While it addresses
to a post-literacy period, it fosters communal sense. It focuses on present moment
and it uses formulas. It assumes that electronic media may arouse a sense of
community, and it may provoke a return to pre-modern forms of sociality.
Although secondary orality was initially introduced in connection with mass media
such as television and radio, this theory has also been applied to computer-
mediated communication.

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Visual Literacy
As languages get more complicated, literacy has changed its meaning throughout
communication history. With the evolution of the concept literacy, we are urged to
develop verbal literacy, computer literacy, technological literacy, visual literacy,
media literacy. Visual literacy is a linguistic communication tool that helps us to
read, write and create visual images. The visual literacy was firstly coined by John
Debes in 1969. Since the first introduction of the term, digital technology has greatly
impacted our communication skills and our understanding of visual literacy.

Picture 3: Components of Visual Literacy

Source: https://sites.google.com/site/shiftingpedagogy/resources/visual-literacy

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
In a society where oral tradition reigns, recipes are transferred
through folktales as well as kitchen demonstrations. Young ones
usually learn cooking techniques from their family members. In
literate cultures, knowledge transmission passes through written media via cooking
books. Nowadays, cooking techniques and tips are learned from blogs and online
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videos in the visual culture, which dominates the modern age. Below is one of the
cooking websites from which it is possible to get to know the basics of cooking.

Picture 4: Start cooking website

Source: https://startcooking.com

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Write a 1000-word essay in which you discuss, through visual literacy
concept, whether all individuals, in a visually oriented society, are able to
critically view, and create visual media.

CONCLUSION
The orality-literacy along with visual literacy paradigm has been
determining our ways of communication. The ease and accessibility
of digital technologies offer new visual communication practices in
various contexts, and images have become an essential element in our
communication forms. As we are surrounded with visual images of different kinds
from different sources in our daily lives, it becomes more significant to explore how
orality, literacy and visuality shape our mentalities.

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 FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. How can you define media, visual and digital literacy? Explain them
briefly by giving some examples.
2. What are the main characteristics of thought and expression in
primary oral cultures?
3. How secondary orality is dis/similar from primary orality?
4. How does visual literacy impact communication?

LECTURE 4: LANGUAGE SENSITIVITY IN

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

INTRODUCTION
Language is considered as an important tool of communication.
Effective use of language is crucial in order to convey the right
message. To improve our communication skills, we need to learn how
to better use appropriate language while speaking or writing. Apart from using a
grammatically correct language, it is essential to learn how to formulate our ideas
in the best way possible. We will discuss at this lecture how language sensitivity
may help us to communicate in a better way with other people.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Language shapes our subjective realities, and thus it determines
human interactions. Additionally, language may also reveal and
promote our biases. From this standpoint, language sensitivity in
communication skills evokes political correctness as a means of promoting
tolerance and avoiding offense while describing identity-based groups by external
markers such as race, physical abilities, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation,
geographic location, socio-economic status or culture. Therefore, political

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correctness refers to an intention to avoid using an offensive language in
multicultural communication.
Language sensitivity promotes the use of inclusive language, which allows oneself
to communicate with others in more impartial ways. Inclusive language is sensitive
to all kinds of differences by acknowledging diversity and encouraging equal
opportunities. Guidelines are prepared by different agencies, institutions,
organisations and government bodies to highlight ways of using an effective
inclusive language. These guidelines recommend avoiding any statements
perpetuating stereotypes and norms. The key point is to know inclusive words and
phrases, and to replace offensive terms with respectful alternatives.
In order to clarify this matter, it is useful to present some of the following principles
for an inclusive language usage.

Culture, race and ethnicity

Since racial and ethnic labels, expressions and names may be used to portray
certain groups as superior or inferior to others:
 Ethnic or racial background of a person or a group should be mentioned
where this information is relevant to the discussion.
 We should avoid making any kind of (positive or negative) generalisations
about members of a particular ethnic or racial group.
 We should acknowledge the existence of multiple ethnicities within a nation.
 We should avoid using offensive humour and derogatory labelling.

Age
It is equally important to use an inclusive terminology in relation to age. In regard
to this matter, we should avoid any connotation that a specific age group is more or
less able to do what they want and need to do.

Disability
The basic principle herein is to focus on the individual, not the disability. We
should avoid unnecessary references to the disability if it is irrelevant to the

23
discussion. We should use a terminology that recognises that the disability in
question is only one of the characteristics of that person or group.

Socioeconomic status and location

The general principle is to refer to socioeconomic status or location only it is
relevant to the discussion.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Language sensitivity requires using a gender-neutral language or
gender-inclusive language. In order to treat all genders equally,
European and international institutions (such as the European
Commission, the European Parliament, the International Labour Organisation, the
World Health Organisation and the United Nations) have prepared some
guidelines for a gender-inclusive language. The following picture is an example for
greeting others by using inclusive gender-neutral language.

Picture 5: An Incomplete Guide to Inclusive Language for Startups and Tech. [Blog]
Source: Courtney Seiter (2018, 14 September), https://open.buffer.com/inclusive-language-tech/

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 TASK FOR STUDENTS
Make a list of 10 commonly misused and 10 misspelled words and phrases
in English. In this context, then write a 500-word essay in which you
discuss how an inclusive language with an appropriate word choice and
spelling may contribute to the effectiveness of communication.

CONCLUSION
Language is a powerful tool. It creates a huge impact on people.
For an effective communication, it is really important to use a
language that is sensitive to the target audience. Using inclusive
language helps to build a better social life, and to create a safer work
environment. It is worth herein stressing that inclusive language is more than just
replacing specific words with more acceptable terms. It is about changing the
mentalities, long-held habits and attitudes. It is about generating more awareness
and showing respect with a mindfulness for the feelings of others.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What are most significant examples of political correctness?
2. How can inclusive language be useful in encouraging diversity at
global workplaces?
3. What are the general principles to follow an inclusive language usage?
4. How language sensitivity may improve communication? Discuss this
matter by giving some examples.

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 LECTURE 5: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION:
GESTURES AND MANNERS

INTRODUCTION
Sending or receiving messages by using words are not the only ways
of communication. In a communication process, the sender encodes
the message either verbally or nonverbally. Verbal communication is created
through language by using both our words and verbal fillers (i.e. um, uh, er…etc.),
whereas nonverbal communication is the communication between actors by means
other than speech. Nonverbal communication refers to eye contact (or lack thereof),
facial expressions, tone of voice, body distance, gesture, posture, and other ways
people may communicate without the use of spoken language.
Nonverbal communication includes the usage of visual cues such as the study of
movement, gestures and mimics (kinesics), the study of the significance of personal
and social distance, space and orientation in interpersonal communication
(proxemics) and the study of the usage of the sense of touch in social interactions
(haptics).
As nonverbal communication influences our discourse, it is considered as a critical
aspect of communication. In some cases, nonverbal miscommunication might occur
and lead to misunderstandings. It is in the context becomes very important to
improve nonverbal communication skills. The development of the art of nonverbal
communication in practice might help individuals to succeed in their personal and
business lives.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1. Nonverbal communication
“Nonverbal Communication is the way of communication by
receiving and sending messages without using words”. But we
should not consider nonverbal communication as if it is isolated from speech.
Instead, some complex interaction exists between body signals and words. In our
daily lives, around 65 % of our communication is nonverbal, while just 35 % of our

26
communication is verbal. What we understand from nonverbal communication
depends on our cultural and social environment. Because nonverbal
communication has especially cultural connotations.
We give most of our messages through postures, expressions or physical contacts.

Eye contact, touch, gestures, physical space (nearby or far away), facial expressions,
postures, and paralanguage are samples of seven forms of nonverbal
communication.

Oculesics, as a visual form of nonverbal communication, is the study of eye

contact, gaze (direction and intensity) and eye movement. Eyes could deliver a
message of their own. While mutual eye contact can be interpreted as a sign of
liking, a lack of eye contact might be considered as a sign of extreme disrespect.
While looking at listeners during a speech establishes a rapport with spectators,
looking back the speaker reciprocates the establishment of the rapport between
speaker and listeners.

As a type of nonverbal communication through touch, haptic communication,

expresses various messages during interpersonal relationships. While a warm
touch might create positive impact, a violent touch can lead to negative outcomes.
Touch can be interpreted in diverse dimensions and contexts: Intensity of touch
(strong or delicate), duration of touch (prolonged or short), location of touch
(touched area) and frequency of touch (number of touches). These touches might
communicate different emotions such as gratitude, love, happiness, sympathy, fear
and anger.

1.1 Gestures allow people to express a variety of thoughts and feelings through
movements of body expressions, face and body parts. Pointing, handshakes,
saluting, waving are some well-known examples of communicative gestures. They
can give their messages alone or they might supplement a message given by verbal
communication. A gesture might be a sign of involuntary reaction to a feeling of

27
anger (such as throwing one’s arms up) or a sign of voluntary response to
salutation (such as waving hello).
The study of space and distance by people in a nonverbal context is called
proxemics. Each culture has different normative space expectations. While standing
‘too close’ to a person might be considered as normal in some cultures, others might
prefer keeping distances from each other by expressing their discomfort for this
kind of proximity.

1.2 Facial expressions can be voluntary or involuntary to express certain emotions.

Face offers information about race, ethnicity, sex, age and status. Through facial
expression, it is possible to demonstrate some universally recognized emotions such
as disgust, contempt, fear, anger, surprise, sadness and happiness. The intensity of
these expressions, changes from one culture to another.
Posture can express various information about a person’s state of mind, his/her
submissiveness, confidence or reactions to certain situations. Each posture
represents different meanings. For instance, a forward-looking posture might
symbolize a confident personality, a withdrawal posture might signify shyness or
boredom.

1.3 Paralanguage is an exceptional type of nonverbal communication since it exists

when we both speak and use words. Paralanguage involves verbal and nonverbal
aspects of speech including intensity, tone, pausing or silence. Paralanguage
conveys emotion or gives nuanced meaning by using some techniques. For
example, a silence between verbal messages can be interpreted as a sign of
hesitation and it may indicate the requirement of some time to gather thought.
When interlocutors have different cultural and linguistic backgrounds in an
intercultural context, nonverbal type of communication becomes significantly
important.

28
2. Intercultural communication skills and nonverbal misinterpretations:
We communicate most of our nonverbal messages in various ways. To
communicate accurately a nonverbal message across cultures is a complex issue.
Nowadays, more heterogeneous groups of people in terms of culture, race, age,
gender and education work together in global workplaces. This workforce
diversity requires a type of organizational culture in which employees have to
develop their intercultural communication skills. Nonverbal type of
communication is especially prone to deceptive understandings in cultural
comparisons. There are various interpretations and expectations in relation to body
languages and postures.
Much of our nonverbal behaviour is learned and is therefore culturally unique.
While people from all cultures express their emotions (such as sadness, happiness,
anger, etc.) universally, they manifest various gestures differently. Some cultures
have tendency to make eye contact less regularly and for a short amount time, for
instance. Our culture teaches us how to communicate by touching others with our
bodies, with our eyes, with our voices, with smell, through the usage of space and
through the way we dress and present ourselves.
In an intercultural communication, it is possible to violate the expectations of others
by our nonverbal behaviours. For example, we may touch too much or we may
stand too close to that person. In that case, it is really important to know and to
respect the codes of nonverbal communication, if we really want to establish an
impressive communication.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
As a type of nonverbal communication, body language helps to make
a good first impression. The following infographic for nonverbal
communication do's and don’ts demonstrate ways to make a great
first impression in a job interview.

29
Picture 7: Infographic of the body language tips for job interviews (blog)
Source: Vanessa Van Edwards (2013, 3 June), https://www.careerbliss.com

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Different countries and their respective cultures employ different types of
body language and gestures. Find five gestures that have variations in
different cultures and compare them with each other.

30
 CONCLUSION
Successful communication occurs when a sender and a receiver
agree upon the shared meaning of an intended message. Miscommu-
nication takes places when a receiver gives an erroneous meaning to
a verbal or nonverbal message. Miscommunication may happen more frequently in
intercultural communication than intracultural communication. Each culture gives
unique meanings to nonverbal expressions. For an effective type of communication,
it is important to raise awareness about the different attributions that we make
about nonverbal communication in other cultures.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What are the basic forms of nonverbal communication?
2. Why the field of nonverbal communication is particularly prone to
false interpretation in cultural comparison?
3. What is the relationship between intercultural communication skills
and nonverbal misinterpretations?
4. What are the new techniques to improve nonverbal communication?

LECTURE 6: EFFECTIVE VERBAL COMMUNICATION

AND PRESENTATION SKILLS IN DIGITAL AGE

INTRODUCTION
An effective presentation takes full consideration of target audiences’
expectations and needs in order to achieve the desired outcomes. This
lecture is designed, firstly, to present the basic stages of planning of a
presentation. And then, we will focus on the techniques for delivering an effective
presentation to the audience. Traditional presentation tools are not considered
anymore as effective for impressing audience. As presentation techniques have
changed with the advances in technology, we will explore effective verbal
communication techniques and presentation skills in the digital age.
31
 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
We are often required to present our ideas to other people in our
personal and business lives. An effective presentation requires,
firstly, a careful planning.

Planning
In the first step, we need to set an objective for our presentation, and then, we
should decide the type and the design of our presentation to meet our objective.
An effective speaker acknowledges the variety of differences based on interests,
levels of knowledge and experience and prepare for and respond to them
accordingly.
As the physical environment (such as venue, room light or sound) may influence
the quality of the presentation, it is important to assess the suitability of these
conditions.
A successful presentation is composed of logical, structured and coherent
arguments.

Performance
A convincing presenter needs to be assertive by his or her posture.
The presenter should be in permanent contact with his/her audience.
An effective voice modulation helps the speaker to win the audiences’ attention.

Visual aids and technological tools

With the rising demand of visually attractive and impressive presentations, there is
an increasing demand for multimedia presentations, which have become an
inevitable part of our lives. Developers offers a variety of alternatives for free or
paid presentation software programs. Some presentation software programs are
cloud-based, others are downloaded for offline use. The following software
programs are the most popular ones that are used for presentations. Collaborative
presentation tools such as Google Presentation, VoiceThread; Tools for Sharing

32
Presentations such as Slideshare, SlideRocket; Zoom Browsers such as Prezi; other
presentation tools such as Wordle, Cooliris, Dipity.
Besides these technical points, it would be helpful to consult the best examples of
effective communication and presentation skills in the digital age. One example
here is the case of TED Talks programs, through which inspiring thinkers,
innovators and doers have been sharing their inspiring ideas.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
COVID-19 revived the need to explore online teaching and learning
opportunities. Thus, it became crucial to be able to use digital learning
management systems, e-learning platforms and communication tools.
The following picture compares some of these communication tools (Zoom, Google
Meet, Microsoft Teams) for an effective distance learning during the pandemic.

Picture 6: Comparing Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet [Blog]

Source: Charlotte Verbrugghe (2020, 10 April),
https://www.fourcast.io/blog/comparing-zoom-microsoft-teams-and-google-meet

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Create a presentation on 21th century communication skills by using a
digital software program.

33
 CONCLUSION
To be able to communicate accurately is the key element to improve
verbal communication skills. To deliver a successful presentation is
one of the essential 21st century communication skills. An effective
presentation requires a careful planning and a successful performance with visual
aids and latest technological tools. We need to get inspired by good examples in
order to adapt the new presentation skills in the digital age.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What are main elements of effective verbal communication?
2. What are the main stages of a successful presentation?
3. What are the latest effective verbal communication and presentation
techniques?
4. What are the most popular software programs that are used for
presentations?
5. What are the effective ways of communication in a digitalized world?

LITERATURE
Baron, N. S. (1998). Letters by Phone or Speech by Other Means: the Linguistics of
Email. Language and Communication, 18, 133-170.
Bradbury, A. J. (2010). Successful Presentation Skills. London: Kogan Page.
Burgoon, J. K., Guerrero, L. K., & Floyd, K. (2016). Nonverbal Communication.
London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Crystal, D. (2001). Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Cyphert, D. (2007). Presentation Technology in the Age of Electronic Eloquence:
From Visual Aid to Visual Rhetoric. Communication Education, 56(2), 168-192.
Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical Discourse Analysis. London: Longman.
Goodman, S. (1996). Market Forces Speak English. In Sharon Goodman & David
Graddol (Eds.), Redesigning English. New Texts, New Identities (pp. 145-183). London
and New York: Routledge.
Hentz, B. S. (2006). Enhancing Presentation Narratives through Written and Visual
Integration. Business Communication Quarterly, 69(4), 425-429.

34
Lauring, J., & Klitmøller, A. (2017). Inclusive Language Use in Multicultural
Business Organizations: The Effect on Creativity and Performance. International
Journal of Business Communication, 54(3), 306–324.
McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. New York,
Toronto: McGraw-Hill.
McLuhan, M. (1965). The Gutenberg Galaxy. Toronto; Buffalo: University of Toronto
Press.
McLuhan, M., & McLuhan, E. (1998). Essential McLuhan. New York: Basic Books.
McLuhan, M., McLuhan, S., & Staines, D. (2003). Understanding me: Lectures and
Interviews. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Murray, D. E. (1991). The Composing Process for Computer Conversation. Written
Communication, 8(1), 35-55.
Neuliep, J. W. (2017). Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ong, W. J. (1971). Rhetoric, Romance, and Technology: Studies in the Interaction of
Expression and Culture. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Ong, W. J. (1982). Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. London:
Routledge.
O’Sullivan, T., Hartley, J., Saunders, D. & Fiske, J. (1993). Key Concepts in
Communication. London and New York: Routledge.
Rosenthal, R. (1972). McLuhan: Pro and Con. Baltimore, Md: Penguin Books.
Rubin, D. L., Greene, K., & Schneider, D. (1994). Adopting Gender-Inclusive
Language Reforms: Diachronic and Synchronic Variation. Journal of Language and
Social Psychology, 13(2), 91–114.
Studies and Education Studies. International Journal of Learning and Media, 4(2), 19-
34.
Williams, C. M., Debes, J. L., & National Conference on Visual Literacy. (1970).
Proceedings of the First National Conference on Visual Literacy. New York: Pitman.

EGECED – Institute of Education and Youth Studies Association,

©
Turkey

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36
 Erdinc Duru – Asuman D. Paksu – Murat Balkis – Sibel
Duru

TEACHING MODULE 2

Collaboration

MOTTO: “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress,

and working together is success.”
Henry Ford

37
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF THE MODULE
After completing this module, the learners will be able:
 to define the elements of collaboration and collaboration
process,
 to understand the process of being a capable team,
 to comprehend the importance of trust and respect in the process of being a
team,
 to develop listening skills in collaboration,
 to develop perspective-taking skills in collaboration,
 to develop conflict resolution skills in collaboration,
 to design a road map for team members,
 to comprehend collaboration in the digital era,
 to improve and encourage collaboration skills.

LECTURE 1: THE ELEMENTS OF COLLABORATION AND

COLLABORATION PROCESS

INTRODUCTION
Today, increasing technological developments have facilitated
interactions among countries. In many societies, social, economic,
cultural and political changes and transformations have gained
unprecedented momentum compared to previous periods. The shifting and
exponential growth of existing information within the framework of this rapid
change have led to a process in which the acquisition of knowledge and production,
distribution, and intelligence consumption is essential. This change has affected the
education field as much as other fields and increased and differentiated society's
expectations and demands from education (Özgüngör and Duru, 2014). There is a
paradigm shift from behaviorism to cognitivism and (social) constructivism
(Köseoğlu and Tümay, 2013). Globalization increases the insistence of students to

38
improve the knowledge and skills they need for accomplishment. Connecting our
world-wide ecosystem, economy, and political connections require students to
learn to work and solve problems with people world-wide. “The employers
considered that 21st Century Skills are essentials for accomplishing workplace such
as creativity and innovation, collaboration, global and local connections,
communication, self-direction, critical thinking, and using technology as learning
tools” (Wilcox, Liu, Thall, & Howley, 2017).
Many universities use various teaching methods to develop these skills in their
students to meet these career needs. The capacity to collaborate with other people is
an essential skill of the 21st century and a necessary condition for optimal learning.
Teachers can design education in many ways, enhancing students' skills to work in
teams. Students can discuss subjects in pairs or bigger teams and share their
understanding with the other students. Collaborative learning is to assume the
essential responsibilities of working together. Therefore, collaborative learning
requires shifting learning responsibility from teachers and students. Collaborative
learning is to enable students to create information together. Working together to
achieve a common goal, they build knowledge through their interactions with each
other. In other words, it can be said that collaborative learning environments are
advantageous in terms of students' success, interpersonal relations, and the
development of social competence. This lecture focuses on the importance and
necessity, elements, and process of collaboration.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
The fundamentals of collaborative learning framework are based on
the Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories. For example, Piaget, a
cognitive constructivist, sees cognitive development as balance,
imbalance, and a new balance process. The individual must be active in this
process. In the socio-constructivist approach, Vygotsky pointed out that a
cognitive imbalance is essential in evoking improvement. Social connections enable
such mental shortcomings to the degree that students cooperate with their peers at
higher developmental stages. Because of that, group heterogeneity is significant, as

39
group members are anticipated to have various information, various representation
patterns, and different cognitive devices.
Vygotsky highlighted the significance that social interaction causes individual
cognitive transformation. As social interaction is adopted, the participants'
conceptual changes can occur as new appropriate understandings (Köseoğlu and
Tümay, 2013). Like Piaget, Vygotsky emphasizes the importance of heterogeneous
cooperation groups. According to Vygotsky, the proximal development zone
defines the distance between what individuals can achieve by themselves and what
they can achieve with the assistance of more skilled "others." While the Piagetian
perspective often maps kids at various developmental stages to assist cognitive
imbalance, the Vygotskian view usually matches kids with grownups. Social
constructivism perceives the environment as a fundamental part of collaborative
mental actions. According to this approach, information is not something
transferred from one partner to another.
On the contrary, information is gathered through interactions between group
members. This approach highlights that the whole group performance is beyond
the addition of its fragments. In addition to that, based on group members' input,
group interactions change in ways that are not essentially expectable.

What is Collaboration?
The concept of collaboration was first used in the context of the human relations in
the industry trend that developed at the end of the "Hawthorne Studies" led by
Elton Mayo in the 1930s (Bolat, 1996). „Collaboration means working with people
or departments that are thought to positively impact the outcome of performing a
task or achieving the final goal“ (Bardakoğlu & Akgündüz, 2016). As cited in
Downe, Finlayson, and Fleming (2010, p. 251), "the word collaboration can be traced
back to the Latin verb collaborate, which is a combination of 'with' (co) and 'work'
(labour)". This shows that „collaboration is a dynamic and active process for doing
and achieving something between people“ (Downe et al., 2010).
Gray (1991) suggests that the collaboration aims to create a richer and more
comprehensive estimation of the problem among stakeholders rather than

40
structuring the problem by any group members alone (Gray, 1991). Similarly,
Chrislip and Larson (1994) state that collaboration aims to form a shared vision and
standard techniques to deal with concerns that extend beyond any specific member.
When the literature is analyzed, it is seen that many definitions are made for
collaboration, but there is no standard definition agreed upon (Wood & Gray, 1991).
Some authors conceptualize collaboration as a relationship (Bushe, 2006; Chrislip &
Larson, 1994; Schwarz, 2006). For example, Schwarz (2006) defines „collaboration as
a mutually beneficial relationship between two or more people, groups, or
organizations that co-design and learn together and learn from each other to meet
their relevant interests, such as sharing, responsibility, authority, and accountability
to achieve results.“ According to Bushe (2006), „collaboration is a relationship
where two or more people devote themselves to successfully carrying out a project
or process together“. While following the outcomes, they act on behaviors and
assumptions which are consistent with their cooperation. The other group authors
define collaboration as a process (Dietrich, Eskerod, Dalcher, & Sandhawalia, 2010;
Thomson, Perry, & Miller, 2009). Dietrich et al. (2010) define „collaboration as a
systematic process in which two or more individuals or organizations work
together for a common purpose, creating knowledge, learning, and consensus”.
Roschelle (1992) conceptualizes collaboration as an exercise to find common ground
in the group or make an ordinary meaning. According to Roschelle (1992), the
participants become to speak the same language through the creation, monitoring,
and repair of shared information. Thomson et al. (2009) state that the
conceptualization of collaboration in different ways adds richness to the literature.
According to Thomson et al. (2009), the lack of consensus on the meaning of
cooperation among researchers makes it difficult to compare the findings in studies
and to know whether the measured thing is a collaboration. Although there is no
consensus on the definition of collaboration in the literature, the existing definitions
include certain elements such as common purpose, more than one person who
came together to achieve this goal, act together to achieve the goal, a willingness
to take responsibility, and a repetitive process. Briefly, there is a beneficial
reciprocal relationship among different parties with common goals in collaboration

41
via sharing their responsibility, authority, and accountability to reach the goals
(Chrislip & Larson, 1994).

The Elements of Collaboration

Martinez- Moyano (2006) described the collaboration as an operation in which
knowledge, participation, outcomes, notions of trust and aggregation of activity
repetitively interact with each other; and further explained that the way of
improving collaboration is through paying attention to the ways of handling
information in the process of collaboration, producing and understanding of the
outcomes, and facilitating the sense of trust through communication.
According to Wood and Gray (1991), "collaboration occurs when a group of
autonomous of a problem domain engage in an interactive process, using shared
rules, norms, and structures, to act or decide on issues related to that domain" (p.
146). As can be understood from those definitions, it can be said that collaboration
has a complex and multidimensional structure.
In the existing literature, the growing body of research has tried to identify the
elements of collaboration. For example, based on their qualitative work with
students enrolled in the undergraduate nursing program, Gagnon and Roberge
(2012) offer eight aspects of cooperation: cooperation, coordination,
communication, responsibility/accountability, mutual trust and respect,
autonomy, assertiveness, and psychosocial aspects. Barratt (2004) suggests five
collaboration elements as a collaborative culture, trust, mutuality, information
exchange, openness and communication. Thomson et al. (2009) attempt to test the
structural equational model of collaboration that is proposed in light of the findings
of research on collaboration. They found that the five elements model of
collaboration is valid. These elements are governance, administration, autonomy,
mutuality and norms. Finally, based on the study by Hoegl and Gemuenden (2001),
Dietrich et al., (2010) describe five elements of collaboration namely communication
(refers to the adequate, clear and efficient exchange of information between
collaborative actors), coordination (expresses a mutual understanding of the goals,
necessary activities and contributions to be achieved by collaborative members),

42
mutual support (refers to the willingness of the co-actors to help each other in
achieving the goals agreed upon), aligned effort (means that the contributions of
the collaborating group members are in line with the expectations of the
contribution), and cohesion (refers to the presence of a collaborative spirit among
group members).

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
The development of the collaboration skill requires developing sub-
skills such as coordination, communication, conflict resolution,
decision making, problem-solving and negotiation (See Picture 1).
Effective teamwork needs to support the development of collaboration skills.
However, it is not as easy to create a capable team. For an effective team, the culture
of trust and respect in teams; communication skills; but especially listening skills,
which is an essential sub-skill of communication skill; taking perspective and
conflict resolution skills need to be developed.

Picture 1: The teamwork skills (2020, 15 August)

Source: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/list-of-teamwork-skills-2063773

43
 TASK FOR STUDENTS
Discuss the advantages of teamwork with your group by identifying two
situations that require cooperation and collaboration.

CONCLUSION
Since collaboration has a complex and multidimensional structure,
although it does not have a standard definition, we can say that
collaboration means working together to achieve the specified goal.
Collaborative learning, based on the work of Piaget and Vygotsky, is not new in the
educational area. The studies in education mention the positive effects of
collaborative learning on students, such as developing critical thinking,
metacognition, and motivation towards learning (Lai, 2011). However, the
increasing complexity of technology and jobs has forced many business areas or
different departments in a job, and other disciplines in the academic community to
work together, so collaboration has become an essential skill in the business world
and education.
In sum, collaboration is an essential skill in the business world of the 21st century.
For improving and encouraging collaboration skills, the goal and expectations
related to teamwork should be clearly defined; the group members' uniqueness
must be acknowledged; trust and respect should be built and maintained among
group members, and positive communication should be established.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. How can you describe collaboration?
2. Have you ever worked in a collaboration? If yes, would you evaluate
the teamwork with its negative and positive aspects? If no, and as a
member of a team, what would you expect from a team?
3. What are the elements of collaboration?

44
LECTURE 2: THE PROCESS OF BEING A CAPABLE TEAM

INTRODUCTION
It can be said that collaborative work is an increasing trend in today's
education and competitive business world. Institutions are looking for
solutions to their cooperation problems, and employees and students
want to be part of a team. On the other hand, although collaboration is often chosen
because it is a more comfortable and more efficient way, it is not easy to create a
capable team. One should be careful about some points to get the desired efficiency
from collaborative studies. For example, group members must trust and respect
each other and understand each other's perspectives. It is also essential that they
manage conflicts that may arise in the group from time to time and solve problems
within a collective mind's framework. For an effective team, the culture of trust and
respect in teams; communication skills; but especially listening skills, which is an
essential sub-skill of communication skill; taking perspective and conflict resolution
skills need to be developed. Therefore, how does an effective collaborative team
form, and how does it work during the lesson? We will focus on the questions and
try to find answers to them. Second, we will discuss the topics below concerning
the process of being a capable team.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1. Trust and respect as the basis of being a team
Collaborative learning requires teamwork. “The basis of being an
effective team is that group members trust and respect each other”
(Nelson, Hegtvedt, Haardörfer, and Hayward, 2019). The strengths and weaknesses
of each group member are different from other group members. In cases that
require teamwork, each team member participates in the process with this
potential. If the team members do not make efforts depending on the team's
purpose, the team will not be able to achieve its goal. On the other hand, depending
on the team's purpose, each member will make different contributions to the
process because each member has various personal resources in achieving the goal.

45
Therefore, group members must trust and respect each other in the process of team
building. If there is no trust and respect, it will be challenging to achieve the goal.
Therefore, during the lesson, we will focus on creating sincerity, trust, and respect
in the grouping process.
Trust is among the indispensable elements of an effective work team because the
sense of trust also brings the feeling of being safe. In this context, when people in
your work team feel safe and respect each other with their colleagues, they can
easily open themselves to others, take the necessary risks, and tolerate each other's
weak points. A sense of trust is also an extremely important condition for sharing
information. More specifically, as your team members start to trust each other,
interpersonal information flow and open communication skills will become
stronger.

What can you do to create an atmosphere of trust in-group/teamwork?

Respect differences: Our differences are not a threat to group/teamwork, but a
wealth. If the group respects differences, they bring their unique experiences to the
group work without hesitation. It is also the foundation of building trust in this
group.

Creating a mutual trust environment: Group/team members should trust each

other and show this clearly. This means you need to trust your team, colleagues,
and boss. Team members can only open themselves if they feel safe and feel like
part of the team.

Open communication: Establishing an open dialogue between the group/team

members contributes positively to group dynamics. Where there is open
communication, misunderstandings, conflicts, and problems decrease, and trust
increases.

Enabling team members to get to know each other: One way to create an
atmosphere of trust within the team is to allow the team members to get to know

46
their colleagues more personally. Hence, it is essential to develop suitable
environments to tell personal stories and establish personal connections.

Not being accusatory: When people work together, making some mistakes and
disappointments is always possible. This often means that it is easy to accuse
someone of doing so. But in an environment where everyone starts to blame each
other, unrest will also arise. This will have an impact on the motivation of the
team, the atmosphere of trust within the team, and ultimately +. With this, it is
vital for each team member to look at the errors with a constructive perspective, to
be more flexible, and to use a positive language.

Preventing groupings: Groupings damage the trust environment in the team. In the
case of gatherings, team members should create an open discussion environment on
this issue and be allowed to express what they think about their potential impact on
other team members. Just being able to speak honestly about the subject can help
reduce the team's chances of grouping.

Picture 2: Trust and respect as the basis of being a team (2020, 15 August)
Source: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-build-trust-on-your-team-3575707

47
2. Listening skills requirement in collaboration
Listening is an essential communication tool. We communicate 80 % of our time.
We spend 45% of our waking time listening to others. Listening does not only
include a hearing. Listening also includes attention and thinking. We hear voices
while listening, but we consider them consciously. “Effective listening is an active
process and includes receiving, remembering, understanding, evaluating, and
responding” (DeVito, 2019). Listening skills allow us to learn about others'
experiences, understand our teammates, and build trust between others.
Collaborative learning requires teamwork, and team members need to improve
their listening skills to understand and work together. Therefore, during the lesson,
we will first discuss how to improve our effective listening skills, and secondly, we
will explore essential strategies to enhance team collaboration.
It can be said that practical communication skills play a vital role in both private
and public life. Efficient communication skills help build and maintain
relationships, resolve conflicts in negotiations, and understand people with a
different mentality. Since listening is an essential part of verbal communication,
taking listening skills seriously, and learning as a particular skill is necessary.
Contrary to popular belief, being a good listener is not that easy as there are too
many active listening difficulties. Active listening skills are not only abilities but
also process-based skills. We can conceptualize this process as follows. This process
can be formulated as focusing, understanding, evaluating and responding
appropriately.

FOCUSING: The first stage of active listening is to pay attention to the other's
emotions, thoughts, behavior, language pattern, body language and focus on the
person speaking as a whole.
UNDERSTANDING: Understanding is giving meaning to the message being
heard to be achieved as close as possible to the message intended by a person who
is speaking.

48
EVALUATING: Evaluation is the processing of the message received, interpreted
and understood for decision making. The individual brings together a lot of data
and creates a judgment about what is heard.
RESPONDING APPROPRIATELY: The correct response is to check whether the
listener understands what is intended to be told by another person and react
adequately to another person.

Picture 3: Listening skills as the basis for understanding others (2020, 22 August)
Source: https://www.bilgiustam.com/etkin-dinleme-nedir/

3. Perspective-taking of others in collaboration

Perspective-taking is an individual's putting himself in the other's place,
understanding his thoughts and point of view, and reacting accordingly. Human is
a social entity, and we are often in a group, whether in family or business life.
Sometimes we may encounter situations or processes that require teamwork. In
such cases, we may need the ability to perspective-taking. Understanding how the
group members think and react will prevent the group members from
misunderstanding each other and contributing to the group to act faster for its
purpose. Perspective-taking is a skill that can be learned and taught and can make
group work more effective. Therefore, during the lesson, we will learn how to
improve our skills to perspective-taking in individual-group relationships.
According to Davis (1983; 1994), empathy has four sub-dimensions: perspective-
taking, empathic interest, fantasy and personal distress. “Perspective-taking is a
49
cognitive component of an empathy. It means that an individual is able to put
him/herself in someone else's place, he/she can understand other person thoughts,
see things from his/her perspective, and than he/she is able to react appropriately”
(Duru, 2002). In other words, perspective-taking is a three-stage process-based
skill. In the first stage, the person replaces him/herself the place of the other person.
Secondly, he/she understands his/her thought, perception, and perspective, and
finally reacts appropriately to another person without mixing his/her viewpoint
with the process. People with empathic tendencies give more help to the person
they perceive in need. Similarly, people with high motivation to help people in
need tend to take the other's perspective more frequently in showing interest in the
other's lives (Oswald, 1996). In summary, it can be said that cognitive components
of empathy, such as perspective-taking, have a facilitating effect on the perception
of the needs of the individuals in the team.
Please look at Figure 4. What do you think? Who do you think is right?

Picture 4: Perspective-taking skills (2020, 18 June)

Source: https://www.dmy.info/empati-nedir/

4. Conflict resolution skills as the basis of compromise

Conflict is in life and is a natural result of our differences. We use some coping
strategies, consciously or unconsciously, while experiencing conflict. We apply
these strategies as appropriate depending on the type of conflict, with whom it is
experienced, its severity, and its possible consequences. There may also be conflicts
in groups created by gathering more than one person due to differences in
perceptions, beliefs, values, thoughts, interests, needs, expectations, and
experiences. In reality, conflict is inevitable in life. The important thing here is not

50
the lack of conflict, but how the group members manage this conflict when there is
a conflict. The effective way to resolve a dispute is to find a way to satisfy both
parties, and their needs are mutually satisfied. Gaining conflict resolution skills is
learning to use a win-win strategy in a sense. Therefore, during the lesson, we will
first discuss how to improve our conflict resolution skills in individual-group,
group-group relationships, and second, we will learn essential conflict resolution
strategies.
Conflicts and disagreements are inevitable as a natural result of differences in
individual values, past lives, beliefs, and perceptions. Whether the outcome of the
battle is positive or negative depends on how the conflict is managed. Conflict,
resentment, deterioration of relations and a decrease in work efficiency result
from conflicts that are not well managed.
Different people use different strategies in conflict management. These strategies,
which are generally learned in childhood, appear to operate automatically. People
are often unaware of how they behave in a conflict situation. According to Johnson
(2006), there are two things people want to achieve or achieve in the event of a
conflict. One of them is the individual's desire to make their own goals, which also
causes interpersonal conflict. The other one is the importance given to the
relationship with the person. It can be said that both requests fall into different
points of a line ranging from "very important" to "not important at all". In other
words, to what extent is the aim causing the conflict important for the individual?
How meaningful is their relationship with the person with whom they are involved
in the battle? Depending on these two factors, people can adopt different conflict
resolution strategies. Five different conflict resolution strategies have been defined
that people can refer to, depending on how much they care about their goals and
relationships. These five different conflict resolution strategies are shown, each
symbolized by an animal. You can see the details about the subject in Picture 5.

TURTLE (Avoidance)
The turtles retreat to avoid conflict. They stay away from conflict-creating problems
and people. They believe that trying to resolve disputes is an empty effort. They feel

51
helpless. They think that it is easier (retracting) to be physically or psychologically
withdrawn rather than facing conflict.

TEDDY BEAR (Accommodation)

The relationship is significant for the Teddy Bears, and the purpose is not so
important. Teddy bears want to be accepted and loved by others. They think that
people cannot argue without harming relationships, and that conflict should be
avoided to avoid unpleasantness. They give up their own goals to maintain their
relationship.

SHARK (Using force, competing)

Sharks force the person in conflict and try to use force on the other person to accept
their solutions. Their goals are critical, and their relationships are not meaningful.
They want to achieve their goals at all costs. They are not concerned with the needs
of others. They see conflict as one person winning, the other person losing.
Winning gives sharks a sense of accomplishment and self-love. Losing gives a sense
of weakness, inadequacy, and failure.

FOX (Compromise)
Foxes attach moderate importance to both their goals and their relationships. Foxes
seek reconciliation. They give up some of their own goals and persuade the person
they conflict with to give up their goals. They look for a solution where both sides
will gain something. To find such a solution, they are willing to make some
sacrifices for their purposes.

OWL (Collaboration)
Owls attach great importance to both their purpose and their relationship. They see
conflicts as problems that need to be resolved and seek a solution that one and
another person can achieve. They see conflicts as a tool to improve relations by
reducing tensions between the parties. They continue the relationship by looking

52
for solutions that will satisfy both parties. Moreover, they are not satisfied unless
tensions and negative feelings between the parties disappear.

Picture 5: The model of conflict resolution strategies (2020, 15 May)

Source: https://imgbin.com

5. Designing a road map for team members

Collaborative work is designed for complex tasks that cannot be performed by a
person. Cooperative action is becoming the building blocks of corporate strategies
day by day. This situation continues rapidly today. The building blocks of
institutions are not only individuals but teams with different purposes. Ideally, we
assume that the teams are established to realize any project work entirely in
harmony with the goal. However, this is not the truth. It often takes time to build an
effective team.
The team development process developed by Bruce Tuckman (1965) can be used as
a roadmap to increase the team's effectiveness. Tuckman emphasized that groups
must go through five stages to work effectively. They are forming, storming,
norming, performing and adjourning (Riebe, Roepen, Santarelli, and Marchiora,
2010).

FORMING STAGE: this is the orientation phase in which the team members try to
get to know each other and create a trust relationship in this first phase. In this

53
phase, the facilitator should ensure that the team knows each other better, discuss
the team's purpose, and clarify the expectations from each team member (Riebe et
al., 2010).

STORMING STAGE: In the second phase, team members question the team's
goal, tasks and interpersonal relationships. Therefore, conflicts may occur. At this
stage, the facilitator can enable team members to exchange ideas on team norms
(work norms, meeting standards, and communication norms), roles and
responsibilities for long-term teamwork. The facilitator can also carry out activities
to increase the awareness of team members about conflict management (Riebe et al.,
2010).

NORMING STAGE: At this stage, team members' own individual goals for
teamwork evolve towards team goal, and team members' team skills such as
listening, clarifying and summarizing, time management and conflict-
management develop. At this stage, activities for the development of team skills
can be organized, and team members can be promoted to evaluate team progress
and give feedback to each other (Riebe et al., 2010).

PERFORMING STAGE: At this stage, team members show positive

interdependence; they are well organized for teamwork; they act as a team. Here,
the facilitator can withdraw and allow the team to take the entire initiative. Unless
necessary, she/he does not interfere with the team and only observes the teamwork
(Riebe et al., 2010).

ADJOURNING STAGE: This stage is when the team evaluates each other, and the
project after the project is completed. Assessments at this stage should increase the
awareness of team members about their potential and provide information on the
aspects they need to strengthen for teamwork, if necessary. The facilitator can
provide peer assessment and process assessment tools (Riebe et al., 2010).

54
 Picture 6: Tuckman’s stages of group development (2020, 05 June)
Source: http://ns4business.com.br/2018/10/

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
This activity will contribute to each student's understanding of
becoming part of a team and developing collaboration skills.

Materials: A case study

"You are the chairman of the board of a company that exports home textiles. You
filled your warehouses with raw materials that will continue your production for
about two years. While making production planning, the "Pandemic" has started,
and you want to turn this global crisis into an opportunity. You are trying to
understand with your Board of Directors whether your machines are suitable for
producing masks and whether you can create a new production band. On the other
hand, you have six months of orders that you have planned and have to raise. You
do not want to make wrong decisions, and you need to listen to different
perspectives. You want to create a team of experts from inside and outside the
company to make more rational decisions. But you are not sure whether this team
can work effectively. The task expected from the team members is not to perform
the tasks assigned to him, to organize the time, and to fulfil his responsibilities. To
create a common goal expected from the team, share their experiences, listen to the
other, manage possible conflicts, compromise in the rational decision-making
process, and feel like a meaningful and valuable part of the team. You are trying to
55
understand how you can manage the team's approach to be a capable team and
work collaboratively."

Directions
1. Create a group of five or six students.
2. Create a strategy for the team to get to know each other and trust each other.
3. Discuss with all members what it means to be a team.
4. Allow each member of the team to listen to each other.
5. Share what it is to understand a member's perspective with the whole team.
6. Develop the principles of how to manage conflicts between team members.
7. Build awareness of how a problem can be solved cooperatively within the
team.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

What knowledge and skills are essential in being a team? Why? How to
create a strategic roadmap for the team? Discuss with your group
members and write a 1000-word essay.

CONCLUSION
The development of this skill requires the development of sub-
skills, such as coordination, communication, conflict resolution,
decision making, problem-solving and negotiation. Effective
teamwork needs to support the development of collaboration skills. However, it is
not as easy to create a capable team. For an effective team, the culture of trust and
respect in teams; communication skills; but especially listening skills, which is an
essential sub-skill of communication skill; taking perspective and conflict
resolution skills need to be developed.
In addition to these skills, team members need to develop additional skills such as
goal setting, planning, self-regulation, note-taking, making decisions and
leadership for effective teamwork. The team meetings are very suitable areas for
the development of these skills. To support the development of these skills, team

56
meetings should be planned around a purpose. The basic rules should be
established, and the meeting should be evaluated to support team members and
teamwork.
Ideally, we assume that the teams established to realize any project work in perfect
harmony with the purpose. However, this is not the truth. It often takes time to
build an effective team. The team development process developed by Bruce
Tuckman can be used as a roadmap to increase the effectiveness of the group.
Tuckman emphasized that teams must go through five stages to work effectively.
These are forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning (Riebe et al.,
2010).

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. Please answer the following questions considering the case study:
2. Where did you start first? Why? Please explain your rationale or
justification?
3. Who would decide the team's choice, how would it do this? Please
explain the reason or reasons.
4. Who would the team consist of, what would be their expertise,
characteristics, why? Explain, along with its rationale or justification?
5. How would you make each member of the team to be a part of the
team? What would be the communication and information flow
between the members? What would be your opportunities or risks in
this process, how did you manage the process of becoming a team, and
what did you do and how? Explain, along with the rationale or
justification.
6. How would the team decide the purpose, roles, duties, limits, and
responsibilities, and why? Please explain the rationale or justification.
7. How would you decide if you could manage the process effectively,
how would you evaluate it, and what would your criteria be, why?
Explain along with the rationale or justification.

57
 LECTURE 3: COLLABORATION IN THE DIGITAL ERA

INTRODUCTION
Developments in the information society and information
technologies have made it necessary to be effective in new emerging
environments in application areas. Technology has undoubtedly
affected the practice and, thus, the work on reaching the continuous demands and
expectations of the institutions' target audiences, persuading them, informing them,
and responding to them. Developments in information and communication
technologies require the training of qualified personnel who can actively use these
technologies. In the internet world we live in, it has become necessary to use digital
platforms in teamwork and cooperation. This lecture focuses on the importance and
necessity, elements and process of collaboration.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Technological revolution and developments (such as changing social
structure and globalization) in the digital age have caused some
transformations in almost every field. Although the digital age
developments offer the opportunity to work independently, strong networks and
collaboration have brought to the fore for corporate or organizational success. In
this age, collaborating with experts from different disciplines or cultures has
become increasingly important. Therefore, it is almost inevitable to develop this
understanding and create environments suitable for collaboration in the digital
world.
Because of the change in technology there is more important “what” we do, and
“how” we do things than “where” we are. However, in the digital age, profound
changes have also been inevitable in the functioning of teamwork. Nowadays,
participating in the partnership or collaborating with someone no longer requires a
physical presence. Because the development of virtual environments can connect
individuals to space and time, allowing real-time communication and collaboration
worldwide. Indeed, while the digital age has eliminated the concept of time and

58
space, it has brought to the fore a complete human-system interaction. “Primarily,
micro-technological developments have eliminated the necessity of working,
depending on a location. With the help of telecommunication networks, it offers the
opportunity to work from anywhere thanks to Internet technology and digital
technology” (Saray, 2019).
Briefly, the collaboration aims to create channels of communication that enable
many people to work together to achieve a common goal. With the digital age,
profound changes have also been inevitable in the functioning of teamwork. For
example, working with distance, multicultural teams, new technologies and
standard applications have become an essential tool for collaboration. Klitmøller
and Lauring (2013) state that the effective use of the digital age's virtual
communication and interaction is central to the success of teamwork. In this digital
age, collaboration can be achieved in many ways, including networks, applications,
and telecommunications. Standard methods used to improve the cooperation in the
digital workspace are e-mail, meetings (e.g., nTask, Eztalks, Teamviewer, etc.),
instant messaging (e.g., Skype), document sharing solutions (e.g., Dropbox, Google
Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Hightail, etc.), enterprise social networking (e.g.,
Clarizen, Slack, Igloo, Yammer, etc.), and team workspaces (e.g., Bluescape,
HeySpace, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zoho Projectsetc.).

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
The collaboration aims to create channels of communication that
enable many people to work together to achieve a common goal. In
this digital age, collaboration is achieved in many ways, including
networks, e-mail, meeting, document sharing, cloud applications and interactive
communication. These are some of the standard methods used to develop
collaboration in a digital workspace.
Let’s present one case study - COVID-19 is a virus originated in China and it is
spreading rapidly worldwide, causing deaths. There are two main ways to prevent
this epidemic. These are vaccines and drug development. In many countries, some
scientists started studies on this subject together. The World Health Organization

59
thinks that working together rather than scientists’ independent work can solve the
problem in a shorter time. The only obstacle to this proposed solution is the
obstacles with travelline, e. g. cancelation of flights for now.

Picture 7: Collaboration in the digital era (2020, 10 June)

Source: https://www.turizmgunlugu.com/2018/02/28/turizmciler-dijital-pazarlamayi-tartisiyor/

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Create a presentation on 21st-century collaboration skills by using
a digital software program.

CONCLUSION
The increasing complexity of technology and jobs has forced many
business areas or different departments in a job, and other
disciplines in the academic community to work together, so
collaboration has become an essential skill in the business world as well as in
education. Also, the digital workspace has facilitated the collaboration of different
institutions in the global world and eliminated the concept of time and space in
cooperation. This also increased the importance of collaboration skills.

60
 FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. Could scientists live in different parts of the world working on
vaccine and drug development work together? How?
2. What are the solutions to bring these scientists who have vaccine and
drug development studies together?
3. How can scientists notify each other of their work for COVID 19?
4. How can they share information among themselves?
5. How can they meet to make joint decisions?
6. How can they notify each other of instant developments?

LECTURE 4: IMPROVING AND ENCOURAGING

COLLABORATION SKILLS

INTRODUCTION
Collaboration gets together people with various background,
experiences, knowledge, and skills to achieve shared goals. It has
several advantages of managing large tasks, finding creative ideas,
combining abilities, etc. A successful collaborative environment is a place where
everyone in the atmosphere has a voice on equal terms, and where their talents and
skills can contribute to the project. Providing collaboration into team culture
depends on developing team members' collaboration skills. Better collaboration
skills make teamwork more efficient and lead a profitable and valuable outcome.
On the other hand, poor collaboration can cause destructive results like a waste of
energy, resources, and time. Hence unqualified collaboration can be worse than no
collaboration at all.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Literature proposed that collaboration is an indispensable
development (Morse, 2000). Several scholars suggested that there are

61
several way to foster collaboration skills (Ertmer, & Glazewski, 2015; Goddard,
Goddard, & Tschannen-Moran, 2007; Gratton, & Erickson, 2007). The following can
be considered as in a common list for improving and encouraging collaboration
skills:

Defining purpose clearly and expectation related to teamwork

Even though different scholars suggest different lists, all lists should involve
putting a clear goal. Describing a strong shared purpose as clear as possible should
be the first step of any collaborative work. In this way, the team understands what
they are aiming toward and it is possible for keeping track of whether they are on
their correct path or not during their work.
The other crucial keystone of effective collaborative work is confirming each team
member recognizes what is anticipated from them. Each team member needs to
understand that they belong to a unified group and not distinct from the purpose
of the team so that they need to adjust their activities parallel with the purpose of
the group. It is obvious that if there are any unambiguity and hesitation concerning
roles an effective collaboration cannot occur. Another thing is roles should be
assigned fairly and reasonably. Each group member need to understand the role
and responsibilities of others. They need to know what each role description
entails. Unclear role definition hinders team members to take on responsibility
when they need to. Members need to know how and why one member's role is
different from others so that they will be able to work together well. This provides
thrust and reliability. Otherwise, uneasiness can be seen.

Acknowledging the uniqueness of group members

Once the purpose and role definitions were set, assigning group members to the
tasks should be done decently. Although collaboration is simply means working
together it does not mean all team members are the same and do the same task.
Acknowledging the fact that no two individuals are the same and respecting
individuality is very crucial. Each team member has unique expertise,
characteristics, experience, skills and point of view which can bring diversity and

62
different valuable perspectives. Highlighting each person’s assets in assigning
roles means recognition of their strength by team members. This validation
encourages them to take responsibility, motivate them to invest their distinctive
assets for the team. (Gratton, & Erickson, 2007).

Building and maintaining trust between group members

Trust is a fundamental component of any kind of group work that is difficult to
build, but easy to fail. Effective collaboration entails establish and share information
trustfully which helps well resource management. Organizing ice breakers, trust,
confidence, team-building activities help team members to begin build trust. A
coherent and trustworthy team encourage members to share an honest feeling,
creative and constructive ideas and feedback. This will help to strengthen team
bonds, to create a sense of shared responsibility and to give people the confidence
to speak up.

Establishing positive communication

Collaboration is almost impossible without another 21st century skill which is open
and respectful communication. Communication is the amalgam which tie the team
members. Especially in this digital era establishing continuous communication in
anytime anywhere become important. It is helpful to solve any conflicts and share
enthusiasm within the group.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Environmentally Friendly Agriculture
In this example, students study in groups on an environmental issue:
environmental friendly agriculture. They are expecting to show
collaborative effort in the role of a government authority from the ministry of
agriculture, a farmer, an environmental engineer, a representative from industry
and local communities, and scientists etc. This example can be transformed to the
other environmental issues such as ignorant consumption, pollution, environmental

63
friendly industry, environmental friendly house cleaning/ industrial cleaning and
so on.
Expectations: The students will be able to search the environmental problem
grounded on careless agriculture, analyze the effects of inconsiderate agriculture on
life with different perspective, prepare a report on problems of caused by
agriculture and suggestions for environmental friendly agriculture.
Related collaboration skills: to give personal opinion in a supportive manner, to
take turns, to assist others for achieving goal of the group, to handle disagreement
thoughtfully, to share and negotiate information, and suggestions, to be an active
listener on thoughts, feelings, concerns of others, to check for agreement, to gain
commitment to shared goals, to allow others' helps, ability, involvement, to check
for common understanding.

Procedure
 Explain the purpose the activity to the students.
 Ask the students what they know about environmental issues caused
inconsiderate agriculture and lead a brainstorming on their responses.
 While brainstorming as a whole group on these environmental problems
make a concept map or a list with students’ responses on the board.
 Divide students groups of 5 or 6. According to class size number of group
members may change.
 Assign each student the role of a government authority from the ministry of
agriculture, a farmer, an environmental engineer, a representative from
industry, a representative from local communities, or scientists. According to
class size of groups you may omit one of the role or duplicate some of them.
The roles can be assigned by the teacher or the teacher may let the students
negotiate about which role each of them take.
 Inform students they are responsible for preparing a report on
environmental friendly farming and presenting the report to the whole
group.

64
 Remind students that they need to cover each issues aroused in whole class
brainstorming at the beginning of the lesson.
 During the preparation all government authority leave their groups and get
together as a government authority group, similarly farmers from all groups
gather as farmers group and so on. Therefore the students with the same role
get together.
 Explain students that each different role group need to research and study
the issue for their perspective. At this phase students with the role of the
representative from industry are encouraged to visit related local industries,
farmers group may pay a visit to local farm, the engineer group may visit
local engineer chamber etc. If visiting is not possible they can call and get
direct information from related sources or search from internet related to the
perspective of their role. At this stage students are encouraged to take notes,
bring photos, documents or other resources.
 When all role groups finish their search, they split and each student move
back to the original group which involves all different roles.
 In their original group each student should display the perspective of their
role and share the other group members what they got in the previous stage.
Then as a group they prepare a report and presentation.
 A final report will be completed for evaluation. Related to report encourage
students to find alternative solutions to issues whether reasonable or
marginal.
 Finally, ask students to evaluate the other groups’ presentations verbally and
give them feedback.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Investigate the environmental problem based on careless agriculture,
analyse the effects of unconscious agriculture from a different perspective,
prepare reports on the problems caused by agriculture and suggest
proposals for environmentally friendly agriculture.

65
 CONCLUSION
Put it in a nutshell developing and fostering collaboration skills is
so important to be successful in the end. Although one can suggest
many different ways related to each team member and the whole
group, we can make a concise list. The following can be considered as a concise list
for fostering collaboration skills:

 defining purpose clearly and expectation related to teamwork,

 acknowledging the uniqueness of group members,
 establishing positive communication.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. Can you suggest more strategies for encouraging collaboration in your
subject area?
2. Which other 21st century skills is helpful in fostering collaboration?

LITERATURE
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© Pamukkale University, Turkey

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 Lucilla Crosta – Valentina Banda

TEACHING MODULE 3

Critical Thinking

MOTTO: “Time given to thought is the greatest time saver of all.”

Norman Cousins

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LECTURE 1: DEFINITIONS, THEORIES AND MODELS OF
CRITICAL THINKING

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, the learners will:
 know and understand definitions, theories, models and skills
of critical thinking,
 be able to take an active role in discussions,
 be able to apply critical thinking face to face or in virtual teams.

INTRODUCTION
Critical thinking has been widely defined by authors such as Jonh
Dewey (2010), Moon (2008) and Ennis (2011). These definitions refer
to “critical thinking such as a reasonable reflective thinking focused
on deciding what to believe or to do” (Ennis, 2011) or more generally speaking to
the ability to analyze facts, generate and organize ideas, defend opinions, make
comparisons, evaluate arguments, without passively accepting what is read, but
learning to rise question on information. The module will explore some key
definitions of critical thinking and will discuss theories, models and skills about it.

Picture 1: Illustrative graphic of critical thinking

Source: Pixabay

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Students will be asked to read the resources provided and to actively discuss the
topics of the module in a big group discussion either online or face to face. Different
views and perspectives will be shared together using a critical thinking approach.
The idea is to deliver the module fully online if it is necessary to deliver it face-to-
face it would be adapted accordingly. The video here below provides an
introduction to the definition of critical thinking. You can watch this video in order
to start being introduced to the topic.

Picture 2: Print screen of video on introduction to the module

Source: University of Leeds, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=josRsaUPAEU

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Dewey (1933) for example (In Hitchcock, 2020) analysed critical
thinking as consisting in five phases namely: suggestions, in which
there is some thinking into a possible solution; the identification of
a problem to be solved, a question for which the answer must be sought; the use of
an hypothesis, to guide observation; the reasoning as the mental elaboration of the
idea and finally the testing of the hypothesis.
Ennis (2011) identified fifteen critical thinking abilities composed by other
relevant sub-abilities that characterize altogether a critical thinker. Ten of them are:
1. Focus on a question.
2. Analyse arguments.
3. Ask questions/clarifications or challenge the questions.
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 4. Judge the credibility of a source.
5. Observe and judge observation reports.
6. Deduce and judge deduction.
7. Make generalisations and hypotheses.
8. Make and judge values of judgements.
9. Define terms and judge definitions.
10. Follow problem solving steps.

Finally Siegel (2010) states not only how critical thinking requires specific skills and
dispositions but also how the “ability to reason well and the disposition to be
guided by reasons is a central importance” (p. 142) in relation to critical thinking.
“Central” in his view is the “Reason Assessment Component” since any critical
thinking thought needs to be supported by an explanation of why the reasons
provided are good ones, what kind of criteria have been used for defining them as
such, what is their nature, why they have been chosen and so on. In addition Siegel
state that what is necessary is also a good disposition in being a critical thinker,
what he calls “The critical spirit” (p. 143).

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Critical thinking theories and models can be discussed in the team
and reviewed together with pros and cons. Examples of critical
thinking skills can be also provided and discussed together.
Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally. A person who is a
good critical thinker can:

 evaluate information in a systematic way,

 understand the logical connections between ideas,
 identify inconsistencies in others’ thinking,
 effectively solve problems and make informed decisions,
 separate what is important and what is irrelevant information,
 construct strong evidence-based arguments,

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  view situations from different perspectives,
 ask hard questions to challenge observations and assumptions.

Critical thinkers typically engage own self-reflection and independent thinking.

They manage an insight to the problem from another perspective – they are able to
think “outside the box”. Critical thinkers closely examine their beliefs,
assumptions, ideas, and arguments in order to identify misconceptions and gaps in
their reasoning. They are able to refine their thought processes over time, and they
are very skilled at synthesizing information.
Many people are under the false impression that if a person can hold a lot of facts or
knowledge in his/her brain and retrieves information from his/her memory more
effectively than others, that he/she is a good critical thinker. This idea is not correct.
Critical thinkers can sort out what is credible and true from what is not credible and
not true. They are able to:
 interpret what information really means,
 analyze ideas and arguments,
 reach accurate conclusions based on evidence,
 assess whether people got the facts right.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Students will be asked to surf on Edulai library:
https://dev.moodle.b52.cloud/login/index.php
After that, they will post answers on course on LMS Moodle:
 What is the definition of critical thinking you would like to embrace?
Why? Please highlight pros and cons of this definition
 What do you think about critical thinking theory/theories why?
 What do you think about critical thinking skills?

CONCLUSION
The module will be a starting point for introducing students the
topic of critical thinking while practicing some critical thinking

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approaches in the discussion. They will practise some critical thinking skills while
reflecting on themselves. They may understand that there are not always right or
wrong answers but different views and perspectives together with pros and cons as
real possibilities.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What are the stages for critical thinking development?
2. What are the key theories/models of critical thinking?
3. What are the key skills of a critical thinker?

LECTURE 2: STRATEGIES TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS TO

ENHANCE CRITICAL THINKING

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, the learners will:
 acquire techniques that can be used for enhancing critical
thinking,
 become more aware of their critical thinking skills thanks to practicing them
through specific techniques and tools.

INTRODUCTION
Critical thinking skills are not always so well framed and clarified
among university students. Mastering these skills is very important
not only for the academic life but also for professional life where
critical thinking skills are highly valued among employers in the Europe and all
over the world. In this lesson, the students will acquire several self-assessment tools
and take part in group discussions in order to identify own critical skills and
argumentations. In order to achieve this, some critical thinking strategies and tools
may be used during the learning intervention. For instance, Edulai software tools

74
may be used for assessing students’ critical thinking skills through their free piece
of writing. Edulai assessment tool can be accessed here:
https://dev.moodle.b52.cloud/login/index.php. The idea is to deliver the module
fully online, if it is necessary to deliver it face-to-face it will be adapted accordingly.
The video provided here gives an introduction to critical thinking skills. You can
watch this video in order to start being introduced to the topic.

Picture 3: Print screen of the video of the Edulai assessment tool

Source: G. Pynn, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cum3k-Wglfw

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
The profesionals in carerr counselling constantly focus on setting a
variety of critical thinking models, strategies and ways to develop
critical thinking skills of candidates for different job possitions.
The IDEAS technique (Facione, 2020, p. 27) is just an example of some critical
thinking strategy that will be presented and discussed during the module. The
IDEAS approach Critical Thinking General Problem Solving Process consists of
five steps: IDENTIFY (I) the problem, DETERMINE (D) relevant information,
ENUMERATE (E) options and consider consequences, ASSESS (A) the situation
and make some decisions, SCRUTINIZE (S) the process and self-correct.
Another example can be the set of five critical thinking components namely:
analysing, evaluating, reasoning, problem solving and decision making (GE

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Foundation Work Skill Program). These five components are closely linked
together into a loop when we start analysing the items of a situation, then we can
move into the evaluation stage where we assess them. As a consequence, we follow
up with some reasoning and then we make some proposals for solving the
problem/situation. Once the decision is made and the problem is solved, we start
again with the first element of the cycle, creating an infinite loop.
This process is very useful especially in workplace environment where companies
need quick, precise and careful solutions and decisions to everyday issues and
problems.
In the workplace graduates will be expected to engage in critical thinking on a daily
basis. Employees will have to analyze, evaluate, reason, solve problems, and make
decisions. While these abilities are connected, they are also distinct and involve
specific behaviors.

Picture 4: Critical Thinking Skills Model

Source: GE Foundation WorkSkill Program (n.d).

Analysis means having the ability to take something apart and examine the
essential or constituent parts, and the relationships between the parts. For example,
when you take your car in for a service check, the mechanic systematically does an
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analysis to determine the problem that needs to be fixed. They are masters at taking
things apart and putting them back together.
Evaluating is making an assessment or judgment based on criteria, a set of
standards, data, or information. For example, when you go to the doctor, he or she
completes a number of vital signs tests, looks at data and your records, and arrives
at a judgment about the status of your health.
Reasoning is your ability to form a coherent and logical argument, and to be able to
use reasons to justify your argument. It is the process of using your mind to
consider something carefully and to be able to demonstrate that it is either true or
false. The main function of reasoning is to be able to devise and evaluate arguments
intended to persuade others. For example, lawyers use reasoning in the courtroom
to convince a jury that the defendant is either guilty or innocent.
Problem solving is the ability to understand the root causes of an issue or situation,
consider alternative solutions, and arrive at a decision about which solution is best
to address the problem. For example, a sales team is brought together because sales
have dropped 25% in the last quarter. They need to work through a systematic
problem solving process in order to find a solution.
Decision-making is the ability to identify and choose a course of action from
alternatives, based on values and preferences. For example, when a young couple is
buying their first house, they usually start with determining the amount of money
they have to spend. Then, they need to consider location, size, and amenities.
Typically, they end up having to decide between House A and House B.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Students can experience different critical thinking tools and strategies.
Students can share their experience in a case study and later explain
to the wider group how useful a specific strategy, technique or tool
for enhancing critical thinking was (GE Foundation WorkSkill Program). See a
Critical Thinking Skills Assessment Sheet for an example:

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 Table 1: Critical Thinking Skills Assessment Sheet
Critical thinkers are able to: Low High
1 Evaluate information in a systematic way 1 2 3 4 5 6
2 Identify inconsistencies in others’ thinking 1 2 3 4 5 6
3 Understand the logical connections between ideas 1 2 3 4 5 6
4 Effectively solve problems and make informed 1 2 3 4 5 6
decisions
5 Separate what is important and what is irrelevant 1 2 3 4 5 6
information
6 Construct strong evidence-based arguments 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 View situations from different perspectives 1 2 3 4 5 6
8 Ask hard questions to challenge observations and 1 2 3 4 5 6
assumptions
9 Interpret what information really means 1 2 3 4 5 6
10 Analyze ideas and argument 1 2 3 4 5 6
11 Reach conclusions based on evidence 1 2 3 4 5 6
12 Assess whether people got the facts right 1 2 3 4 5 6
13 Identify misconceptions and gaps in their own 1 2 3 4 5 6
reasoning
Source: GE Foundation WorkSkill Program (n.d)

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Students will have to read the provided and selected readings for the
module. They will be asked in first instance to carry out an individual
activity such as a self-assessment of their level of critical thinking skills.
Students will be asked to fill in the “Critical Thinking Skills Assessment”
sheet as part of the module activity/discussion. Only after that they will be
exposed to the information about skills needed by a good critical thinker
and then they can start a conversation in the big group with other peers.
In the group they will be exposed to different critical thinking techniques
and tools to use in the discussion individually and then they will
comment/reflect on them altogether. A final self-reflection of the overall
process will be compiled by each student individually and shared with the

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 tutor. The activities will be carried out either face-to-face or online
depending on the context/situation.

CONCLUSION
Becoming aware of our own critical thinking skills is not an easy
and immediate process at all, but rather a developmental one.
Hence having started reflecting on them is just the beginning.
Regularly exercise them through the techniques and tools discussed in the module
will help students introducing them into their daily life both for becoming a better
student and a better professional in the future workplace.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. How useful was the technique/tool used in the group for enhancing
your critical thinking skills? Why?
2. What worked well and what did not work well? Why?
3. What would you do in a different way next time?

LECTURE 3: DIFFERENT TYPES OF ARGUMENTATIONS,

PRE-CONCEPTIONS AND STRENGTHS OF
ARGUMENTATIONS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, the learners will:
 know how to use different types of argumentations
techniques,
 understand connections of different types of critical thinking with
argumentations, pre-conceptions and strengths and practices,
 be able to recognize pre-conceptions in critical thinking in practice,

79
  be able to build argumentations and apply argumentation techniques while
interacting within the team.

INTRODUCTION
There are several ways to approach critical thinking concepts, for
example problem solving method. However, this module will
introduce students argumentation techniques, pre-conceptions and
components which typical for critical thinking. Methods for evaluating an
argument and proofs in order to support argumentations will be also discussed. So
in the module again theories on argumentations will be linked with practice
related both to the academic and professional context. The following video provides
an introduction to argumentation in relation to academic environment.

Picture 5: Print screen of the video on Argumentative Thesis Statements in Review

Source: Excelsior College, link to the video

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Theories on argumentation are provided in the selected readings of
the module. Topics such as what is an argument, identifying an
argument, differences between an argument and explanations,
validity of an argument, evaluating arguments, negations, contradictions and
proofs, fallacies, argumentation proof (Cleave, 2016 and Cohen & Salas, 2002) will
be discussed in the module and shared with the team. In addition, different steps of
80
argumentations will be presented and used in practice in the module by
participants.
For example, Cleave (2016) defines an argument such as “An argument is a set of
statements, some of which (the premises) attempt to provide a reason for thinking
that some other statement (the conclusion) is true. Although arguments are
typically given in order to convince or persuade someone of the conclusion, the
argument itself is independent of one’s attempt to use it to convince or persuade”
(p. 3).
Indeed, there are several different ways to interpret the meaning of argument
which is different at the same time from the meaning of explanation. They later
occur when we use an argument in order to show why the statement of a
conclusion is true in our view (Clave, 2016).
Another aspect that will be touched in the module is the topic of validity of an
argument. An argument can be considered as valid if its premises support the
conclusion, and it is something that every argument should aim for. An argument is
valid when its conclusion cannot possibly be false, assuming that the premises are
true. So basically: “A valid argument declares that if the premises are true, the
conclusion must be true” (Clave, 2016, p. 18).
On the other side “Negation comes into play when it switches the truth value of a
proposition from false to true or from true to false while adding a negation (i. e.
not)” (Clave, 2016).
There are more are examples of critical thinking concepts and approaches that can
be used while discussing critically around a topic. Knowing what these concepts
and approaches will contribute to better dealing with them both in the daily
professional and academic practice.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Participants will be introduced to the argumentation steps/process, to
its pre-conceptions and proofs. This will help them to carry out
individual exercises in order to identify argumentation steps and
potential pre-conceptions/fallacies in critical thinking. A professional case study

81
will be presented to the team and discussed together afterwards. In addition, they
will be asked to fill in individually the Social Assumption Exercise and Quiz that
will be discussed afterwards in the team.

Case study and Fishbowl: The Nova Company

 Nova is a car assembly plant that has been operating in South Carolina for
the past five years. Currently, the company is experiencing many pressures.
The company has invested considerable funds to build the plant, but within
the past year Nova is having trouble finding skilled workers, and production
is not moving forward as anticipated.
 Costs are increasing and profits are getting down at Nova’s South Carolina
plant, and this is creating concerns from the boardroom to the plant floor.
Everyone seems to know the plant is struggling.
 There is a history of conflicts between the union and the company. There
have been threats of strikes over the past two years, but management and the
union have managed to reach a solution on the issues at the 11th hour.
 The company is restructuring at the management level in New York City and
this is creating uncertainty about the plant’s future.
 Nova is an international company with plants in Canada, the US, and
Europe. The new CEO was told to cut costs, and get profits up, or there will
be layoffs and plant closures.
 This pressure has created tensions between the frontline supervisors and the
workers. Frontline supervisors are pushing the workers because they have
been directed to work harder and faster.

The general manager of the plant has called together a set of workers to solve the
problem about how to increase workplace morale and increase productivity (GE
Foundation Work Skill Program).

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Social Assumptions Quiz
1. Social Assumptions: List of Alternative Explanations One or two possible explanations
are given for each fact. Can you think of any other probable explanations?
FACT 1: Alternative Explanations: Center city families spend less money on toys,
books, and lessons than suburban families. Center city schools have fewer facilities
and materials than suburban schools.
FACT 2: Alternative explanations: Drivers spend more time driving near their
homes than on more distant roads. The laws of probability may in part explain the
number of accidents.
FACT 3: Alternative explanations: City conditions such as noise, over-crowding,
and competition cause the higher suicide rate. Pace and quality of life in rural areas
are calmer than in the city.
FACT 4: Alternative explanations: Women have historically been discriminated
against in the workforce where men have traditionally dominated. Because women
are often discouraged from pursuing careers outside the home, they are forced to
depend on men in the workforce.
FACT 5: Alternative explanations: Men are often pressured to be “strong,” that any
lack of strength is a failure. Thus, because men who show their emotions are made
fun of, they hide emotions to appear more masculine, and more successful in their
gender roles.

2. Read each fact, stereotype, and alternative explanation. Decide where these stereotypes
may have originated. Do you think the alternative explanations are reasonable and
appropriate? Can you think of any more explanations?
FACT 1: Up to 40% of all people released from prison commit other crimes and are
re-imprisoned within five years of their release. Stereotype: This is because
criminals would rather break the law and have a chance to stay in prison term than
keep a job.
Alternative explanations: A person in prison is seldom taught skills necessary for
becoming a responsible member of society. In fact, prison may have taught that
person how to become a better criminal.

83
FACT 2: Many men are poor housekeepers. This is because men do not have the
ability to cook, clean, or do the laundry.
Alternative explanations: Household skills take time to learn and men (and boys)
spend their time learning other skills.
FACT 3: The highest number of deaths caused by heart attacks occurs in America.
Americans eat a lot of foods containing cholesterol. We can conclude that
cholesterol causes heart attacks.
Alternative explanations: There may be a relationship between heart attacks and
diet, but the diet alone usually does not cause heart attacks without interacting
factors such as a lack of exercise or strain on the heart due to excessive activity.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Students will carry out/read individually first the professional case study
– Case Study and Fishbowl and to discuss it in the main team. Secondly,
they will carry out the Social Assumptions Quiz (firstly, individually and
later sharing the results in the big team).

CONCLUSION
Argumentation is the basis of critical thinking. Becoming a good
critical thinker means being able to apply basic argumentation rules
and strategies into practice both in academic environment but also
in a professional life. In addition, being able to identify pre-conceptions for
reasoning and providing their proofs are also important steps for improving
argumentation skills. Acquiring these skills requires long time exercising and
practising.
FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. Were you able to identify your bias, misconceptions and false believes
that prevent you to critical thinking around an issue? Why?
2. Please give several examples of types of argumentations techniques.
3. Do you know any problem solving method?

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 LECTURE 4: FALSE CRITICAL THINKING AND
COGNITIVE BIAS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this lessons, the learners will:
 be able to identify bias and fallacies inside a critical thinking
process,
 understand the connections of the critical thinking with bias and fallacies
(false critical thinking).

INTRODUCTION
This interesting module will be based on discussing on what are the
most common and diffused human cognitive biases that prevent us
to properly develop our critical thinking skill. Participants will be asked to identify
what their own cognitive bias might be and to discuss about them within the team.
Hence once again the delivery of content in the class will be followed by more
practical reflections and exercises. In order to introduce this lecture, you can watch
the following video.

Picture 6: Print screen of the video “Logical Fallacies”

Source: GCFLearnFree.org, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CtofTCXcYI

85
 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
In this module the most recent work from Friedman (2017) will be
taken as starting point for understanding some of the key cognitive
bias people have in their daily life reasoning. “Cognitive bias are
defined as product of normal human brain function that we all share.” These are
features of human psychology that make us prone to errors in how we form beliefs
and make decisions. The notion of an “error” is a strong one. We wouldn’t call a
cognitive bias a “bias” unless it often resulted in judgments that we can all
recognize as false or irrational in some way. The whole concept of a cognitive bias
is grounded in this idea that there is a gap between how we should reason and how
our brains really thinks. In addition, the topic of logical fallacies or false critical
thinking will be discussed. “Logical fallacies can be defined as any error in
reasoning that makes an invalid argument and they are basically part of cognitive
bias.” The module will help clarifying these key concepts that affect our critical
thinking process and will help students reflect on them.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
An important quality of critical thinkers is their willingness and
ability to look at themselves. They constantly examine their own
thinking. They challenge themselves to think in different ways and
they try to look at old situations in new ways. These reflection exercises can
consume your energy because you are uncovering your biases, misconceptions,
false beliefs, and thinking distortions that are obstacles to you becoming a critical
thinker.
Some handouts such as “Critical Thinking Starting with Yourself” are aimed at
helping participants to reflect on situations when they are consuming their energies
because of their misconceptions and bias. In the same way having “mental bias”
prevent participants to make free and good decisions.
The handout “Mental Trap Reflection” will provide participants with a change to
reflect on what mental traps are. Mental traps are bad habits in our thinking that we
develop over the years. These ways of thinking block us from making good

86
decisions and often we are not even aware of their influences over us. Like any
habit, we fall into these mental traps automatically. The way to change these habits
is to intentionally bring them to our conscious awareness, acknowledge that we
engage in these behavior patterns, and then work to form new habits. Some of these
mental traps that hurt critical thinking are:

 We continue to work on projects that have lost their meaning or value for us.
 We work harder than necessary to achieve our goals, wasting our energy
and resources.
 We remain fixated or stuck on a task when it is clear that we are blocked
from achieving our goals.
 We know our plans have failed, the game is over, we have lost, yet we
continue to dwell on the “what ifs” and continue to replay the events.
 We start working on something too soon and we end up overworking, or
working in vain.
 We try to hold on to the old course of action and we resist making the
inevitable change.
 We clearly decide to do something, but we procrastinate, or have get
difficulty getting started and getting down to business.
 We try to attend to two things at once, and they both require focus or
conscious attention.
 We are rushing or hurried, acting faster than we should, and we don’t give
the task the time and attention that it needs.
 We spend too much time thinking about topics that shouldn’t even occupy
our minds.
 We carelessly say or think something just because it seems to be true. (Kukal,
A. (2006). Mental Traps. Toronto, ON: Random House).

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 TASK FOR STUDENTS
Think about your own life experience and identify two examples of times
when you have fallen into one or more mental traps. Talk about ways to
avoid these mental traps. What do you need to start and stop doing them?
Please fill in table with some examples.
START DOING STOP DOING

CONCLUSION
Personal cognitive bias and critical thinking fallacies are difficult
to identify if we do not start working on reflecting on ourselves in
the first instance. Becoming a good critical thinker means being able
to identify them first and foremost on ourselves and afterwards on others and on
the topics we discuss. This skill can be mastered with lots of exercises and it
requires lots of time to invest in it.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. Were you able to identify your bias, misconceptions and false believes
that prevent you to critical thinking around an issue? Why?
2. Think about a time when you were in a debate or discussion with a
friend, or family member and you realized your reasoning was off-
track.
3. How did discussion in the team help you to identify them further?
Answers on Edulai: https://dev.moodle.b52.cloud/login/index.php

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LECTURE 5: USE OF CRITICAL THINKING IN ORDER TO
IMPROVE ACADEMIC RESULTS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this lessons, the learners will:
 be able to apply previous theories, knowledge, skills and
understandings on critical thinking into practice,
 improve their academic performance and academic writing.

INTRODUCTION
Critical thinking becomes now, more than in the past a key Higher
Education skill for both graduates and undergraduate students. The
module will help students to develop and apply this skill into
university environment in their daily learning class for example while discussing in
teams and while writing essays. Indeed, the module will recall the topic of
argumentation but applied in the higher education context and will guide the
student towards the process of both think critically and write critically in
Academia. You can watch this video in order to start being introduced to the topic.

Picture 8: Print screen of the video “Academic Language Advisor”

Source: Monash University, www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_dYbZTNui0

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 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
The module will be mainly based on the topic or argumentation
already discussed in the previous section. The remaining part of the
training will be mainly practical since it will help student to apply
into practice, especially into their academic writing, the theories and skills about
critical thinking acquired in previous module.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Students can get familiar with application “Claims and Arguments”
samples, where they can access different types of argumentative and
critical thinking writings. They can surf there and use them for
building their argumentative thesis afterwards. This application is accessible here:
https://www.mesacc.edu/~paoih30491/ArgumentSampleEssays.html

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Students will have to read the provided and selected readings for the
module. They will be then asked to use the “Thesis Generator for Writing
an Argumentative Thesis” tool in order to exercise their critical thinking
and writing skills. They can try to generate as many Argumentative
Theses as they wish at individual level and then they can share the theses
with the wider group. They can also access the “Claims and Arguments”
sample sites in order to see practical and additional examples of
argumentation building. Students can then share their argumentative
thesis in the team for discussion and feedback. In addition, Edulai
software tool will be used for assessing students’ critical thinking skills
through students’ free piece of writing. So student will be also asked to
submit one or more piece of free text into Edulai in order to automatically
assess their critical thinking skills level there. Edulai assessment tool can
be accessed here: https://dev.moodle.b52.cloud/login/index.php

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 CONCLUSION
Critical thinking skills especially in writing have always been
considered as key skills for graduate and undergraduate students at
the university but also as very difficult skill to master and to
understand in the professional life. Acquiring this skill in university environment
will also help students to develop it in preparation of the workplace since
employers give a great importance to it. Indeed, all of the interviewed
entrepreneurs in a survey on this topic stated that this skill really makes a
difference when hiring new candidates.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What does argumentation mean?
2. What are its key components?
3. What are the key theories of argumentation?

LECTURE 6: APPLYING CRITICAL THINKING TO

CONCRETE PROFESSIONAL PROBLEMS AND
PRACTICAL CASES IN THE REAL WORLD

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this lessons, the learners will:
 understand the impact of critical thinking skills on the
professional environment,
 will learn how to use critical thinking skills for solving professional cases,
 become more aware which soft skills the employers seeks for when hiring
new candidates.

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 INTRODUCTION
One of the key finding of the European market research on 21st
century skills of the project CATCH 21, was that although critical
thinking was considered by employers to be one of the key
employability skills, it was hard to find it among young employees or graduates.
With this module we would like to provide students examples and professional
cases when critical thinking skills are required and ask them to solve the cases. This
will help them train solving similar problems in the work-place environment where
critical thinking skills are often linked to problem solving.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
The module will be mainly based on the topic of critical thinking
skills in professional environment. The remaining part of the training
will be mainly practical since it will help students to apply the
theories and skills about critical thinking acquired in previous module into practice,
especially in a professional context.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Students can analyse the “Critical thinking of nurse managers” case
and provide an individual solution to it in Picture 9.

Picture 9: Critical Thinking Concept Map for Nurse Managers Antecedents

Source: Barbara Morrison, Research Gate
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The solutions will be then shared in the big group through informal discussion.
Then the two possible scenarios/solutions from the case can be provided and
discussed further in the big group.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Students will have to read the provided and selected readings for the
module. They will be asked to use the “Critical Thinking in Nurse
Managers” case in order to exercise their critical thinking and problem
solving skills inside a real professional case. Later, they will be asked to
share their solution/s with the wider group for discussion. Once this is
done, the two possible scenarios/solutions from the case will be provided
and discussed further.

CONCLUSION
Critical thinking skill especially in professional environment has
always been considered as key skill for students who approach the
marketplace for the first time. Indeed, employers complain that
young students often lack practical and critical thinking skills while entering the
company for the first time. Acquiring these skills during daily life and professional
practice will help fresh graduates to become more ready for job market and more
employable in comparison with other peers.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What are the concrete key critical thinking skills which you gained
from the module?
2. What critical thinking strategies, tools and approaches do you
often use in your practice or teaching?
3. How are you going to use them for preparing your daily work
at university and your future workplace?
Students are asked to prepare an individual 5 minutes long video
or written assignment which will contain answers to these questions.

93
LITERATURE
Argumentation. (2017). [Video]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdVMpCZ03mM
Ashfor University. (2019). Thesis Generator for Writing an Argumentative Thesis.
Accessible from https://writingcenter.ashford.edu/thesis-generator
Cognitive Technologies Inc. (2011). A Theory of Critical Thinking. Retrieved from
http://www.cog-tech.com/projects/CriticalThinking/CriticalThinkingTheory.htm
Cleave, M. J. V. (2016). Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking. Retrieved from
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-rkbctcWjo3OFhGODNSYTZPMVU/view
Cohen, M., & Salas, C. (2002). Critical Thinking: Challenges, Possibilities and Purposes
Retrieved from
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.136.8771&rep=rep1&t
ype=pdf
Critical Thinker Academy (n.d.). What are Cognitive Bias? Retrieved from
https://criticalthinkeracademy.com/courses/upgrade-your-
mindware/lectures/1034540
Critical Thinking Academy. (2016). Benefit of Critical Thinking for Students. [Video]
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qniosmi-Ng
Ennis, R. H. (2011). The Nature of Critical Thinking: An Outline of Critical Thinking
Dispositions and Abilities. Retrieved from
https://education.illinois.edu/docs/default-source/faculty-documents/robert-
ennis/thenatureofcriticalthinking_51711_000.pdf
Excelsior Online Writing Lab. (2020). Argument and Critical Thinking. Retrieved from
https://owl.excelsior.edu/argument-and-critical-thinking/
Excelsior Online Writing Lab. (2020). Logical Fallacies. Retrieved from
https://owl.excelsior.edu/argument-and-critical-thinking/logical-fallacies/
Facione, P. A. (2020). Critical Thinking: What it is and Why it Counts. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251303244_Critical_Thinking_What_It
_Is_and_Why_It_Counts
Friedman, H., H. (2017). Cognitive Bias that Interfere with Critical Thinking and
Scientific Reasoning: a Course Model. In SSRN Electronic Journal. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316486755_Cognitive_Biases_that_Inte
rfere_with_Critical_Thinking_and_Scientific_Reasoning_A_Course_Module
Hitchcock, D. (2020). Critical Thinking. In The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy.
Zalta, E., N. (ed.), forthcoming. Retrieved from
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/critical-thinking/#pagetopright
Logical Fallacies. (2019). [Video] Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CtofTCXcYI
Mental Trap Reflection. Retrieved from
https://dev.moodle.b52.cloud/login/index.php

94
Morrison, B. (2009). Critical Thinking in Nurse Managers. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26263283_Critical_Thinking_In_Nurse
_Managers/figures?lo=1
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2006). Critical Thinking Standard and Questions to Ask. In
Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools. Dillon Beach, CA: The Foundation for Critical
Thinking.
Praise, Criticism or Feedback? Retrieved from
https://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/Problem.pdf
Pretorious, L. (2019). Critical Thinking at University. [Video] Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_dYbZTNui0
Siegel, H. (2010). Critical Thinking. In International Encyclopaedia of Education (141-
145). Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286995589_Critical_thinking
Sotir, D. (2014). Critical Thinking Skills. [Video] Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PsLktb7HTA
Taylor, D. (2014) How to Write Academic Critique Assignment. [Video] Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRQU0PXdTO0&feature=youtu.be
The University of North Carolina. (2020). Argument. Retrieved from
https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/argument/
Thunk (2013). Argumentation. [Video] Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2006).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEvLwjYTelg
Training Express. (2019). Critical Thinking skills: A Guide for Problem Solving.
Retrieved from https://www.trainingexpress.org.uk/critical-thinking-skills-
problem-solving/
University of Leeds (n.d.). What is Critical Thinking? Retrieved from
https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1401/academic_skills/105/critical_thinking
University of Leeds (Producer). (2014). Critical Thinking. [Video] Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=20&v=josRsaUPAEU&feature=
emb_logo
University of Leeds (n.d.). A Model for Critical Thinking. Retrieved from
https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1401/academic_skills/105/critical_thinking/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dItUGF8GdTw
University of Leeds. (2020). Academic Writing, Build your Argument. Retrieved from
https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/14011/writing/106/academic_writing/8

© Smarthink Srl, Italy

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 Jiřina Sněhotová – Kamila Urban – Jiří Votava

TEACHING MODULE 4

Self-Direction

MOTTO: „The goal of the educational process is to produce self-

directed, lifelong learners.”
Gerald Grow

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 LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF THE MODULE
After completing this module, the learners should/will:
 be able to construct a definition of self-directed and self-
regulated learning, to explain their meaning and to gain the
knowledge how to become a self-directed and/or self-regulated learner,
 understand the strategies to influence their achievements, and to escape
negative feelings (f.e. shame, defeat, and depression),
 be able to describe self-directed and self-regulation techniques and skills,
 be able to describe proper strategies and approaches to implement self-
regulated learning into higher education environment,
 get familiar with examples of teachers' approaches to initiate, facilitate and
evaluate self-regulated learning,
 be able to list examples of evaluation tools and methods that could help both
educators and learners to identify learning progress, to provide formative
feedback and to allow future accommodations,
 become aware of the main directions of the development of higher
education,
 be able to identify the most important and the most relevant study tasks at
higher education and to link study tasks and teaching methods, especially
regarding self-regulated learning.

LECTURE 1: SELF-DIRECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF

STUDENTS' SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING SKILLS

INTRODUCTION
The use of self-directed learning (hereinafter also SDL) as a learning
tool is increasing in today’s educational environment. SDL refers to
two distinct but related dimensions: as an instructional process
where a learner assumes primary responsibility for the learning process; and as a

98
personality characteristic addressing a learner's desire or preference for assuming
responsibility for learning.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
The prevailing definition of self-direction is offered by Malcolm
Knowles. In its broadest meaning, self-directed learning describes “a
process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the
help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals,
identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing
appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes” (Knowles, 1975,
p. 18). The research of the Canadian adult educator, Allen Tough, has made a
significant contribution in this area when he published a study claiming that the
majority of adult learning and change occurred without relying much on
professionals or institutions (Tough, 1971).
The idea has found many supporters among educators however was viewed by
some as a vaguely anarchistic and as a threat to the adult education establishment.
Although the closely related term autodidacticism which could be translated as
self-teaching has roots in the Ancient Greek. The idea is that students should be
encouraged to do more independent work. Until the Industrial Revolution
autodidactics stood more on the fringes of society, but the 20th century has brought
people more opportunities to pursue advanced academic careers and drive their
own learning. In the 21st century with the widespread use of the Internet and
communication technologies, it is accepted or even required to be autonomous and
self-directed in learning. Nowadays learning environments should consider
students’ individual needs, goals, and interests.
According to Brookfield (1985), the critical, rather than technical, interpretation of
SDL has two essential characteristics:

 Self-direction is described as the continuous exercise by the learner of

authentic control over all decisions having to do with learning, such as what
should be the goals of a learning effort, what resources should be used, what

99
 methods will work best for the learner and by what criteria the success of
any learning effort should be judged – those decisions are said to rest in the
learner’s hands.
 Self-direction is considered as the ability to gain access to, and choose from,
a full range of available and appropriate resources, the main questions are
what a learner considers essential for his/her development, and how to get
an access to available and appropriate resources.

According to many researchers the importance of SDL lies in its motivational

component because it makes students more willing and motivated to learn. SDL
decreases the probability that children will suffer from the life-long wounds
commonly produced by coercive schooling and provides opportunities to pursue a
far wider range of interests than is possible in a typical school with its pre-defined
curriculum, fixed schedule, and inability to accommodate the needs and interests of
individuals. Based on intrinsic motivation SDL promotes the natural development
of self-confidence, initiative, perseverance and life satisfaction. Decades of research
have confirmed that SDL must be explicitly taught and requires time for depth of
learning and reflection (Skager, 1984; Westwood, 1997; Van Deur & Murray-
Harvey, 2005).
Researchers Gureckis and Markant (2012) has further explained the cognitive and
computational benefits of self-directed learning. On the cognitive side, SDL allows
individuals to focus effort on useful information, which they do not possess yet, can
expose information that is inaccessible via passive observation, and may enhance
the encoding and retention of materials. On the computational side, the
development of efficient “active learning” algorithms that can select their own
training data is an emerging research topic in machine learning. This review argues
that recent advances in these related fields can provide a framework for studying
how people evaluate different sources of information and decide about the
information they seek out and attend to. Work in machine learning can also help
identify the benefits and weaknesses of independent exploration and the situations
in which such exploration will confer the greatest benefit for learners.

100
Grow suggests a staged model of transition from a dependent to self-directed
learner and “proposes a way teachers can be vigorously influential while
empowering students towards greater autonomy” (Grow, 1991, p. 128). Key aspects
of Staged Self-Directed Learning Model (hereinafter also SSDL) are based on the
Situational Leadership Model of Hersey and Blanchard (1988). The SSDL model
(see Table 1) is built on strong belief in the value of self-direction and provides a
framework to aid good teaching practice by matching the teaching style to the
learner's stage of self-direction. The appropriate teaching style can help the learner
advance towards greater self-direction. The model raises awareness of differences
between students – their ability, motivation, willingness, need for direction, or
dependence. The ability to be self-directed is situational and progression can loop
between stages (Grow, 91)

Table 1: The Staged Self-Directed Learning Model

Learner Teacher Examples
Stage 1 Dependent Authority, Coaching with immediate
Coach feedback. Drill. Informational
lecture. Overcoming deficiencies
and resistance.
Stage 2 Interested Motivator, Inspiring lecture plus guided
Guide discussion. Goal-setting and
learning strategies.
Stage 3 Involved Facilitator Discussion facilitated by teacher
who participates as equal.
Seminar. Group projects.
Stage 4 Self-Directed Consultant, Internship, dissertation, individual
Delegator work or self-directed study group.
Source: Grow, 1991

When applying SSDL model teachers should consider several limitations:

 no clear method for reliably judging learner's stage of self-direction,
 mismatches between teacher style and learner stage can lead to difficulties,
 model is situational, thus flexibility is required,
 model presumes the ability of the teacher to adapt teaching style to suit the
situation and learner,

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  model is teacher-orientated, does not include learner's view (Grow, 1991).
Grow believes that “the goal of the educational process is to produce self-directed,
lifelong learners” (Grow, 1991, p. 127).

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Self-directed learners can:
 diagnose their learning needs,
 formulate learning goals,
 monitor learning activities,
 complete learning independently (Saks & Leijen, 2014).

Self-directed learning skills involve the ability to manage learning tasks without
having them directed by others. Those skills are necessary for effective lifelong
learning and are one of many learning skills students are expected to develop in
college. Skager (1984) identified seven personal characteristics of self-directed
learner based on a survey of earlier work by a number of theorists and researchers
(Berlyne, 1965; Biggs, 1973; Dave, 1975; March, 1972; Maslow, 1954; Joyce & Weil,
1972; Rogers, 1969; Wroczynski, 1974; Skager & Dave, 1977):

1. Self-acceptance: refers to positive views about the self as a learner and is

grounded in extensive and successful prior experience.
2. Planfulness: such learners are able to diagnose their own learning needs, set
appropriate personal goals based on those needs, and devise effective
strategies for accomplishing the learning goals.
3. Intrinsic Motivation: such learners persist in learning activity in the absence
of external controls in the form of rewards or sanctions.
4. Internalized Evaluation: such learners are able to act as their own evaluation
agents, can give accurate estimates of the quality of their performance based
on evidence they collect themselves.
5. Openness to Experience: such learners engage in new kinds of activities that
may result in learning or goal setting. Curiosity, tolerance of ambiguity,

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 preference for complexity or playfulness represent motives for entering into
new activities and imply openness to experience.
6. Flexibility: implies a willingness to change goals or learning mode and to
use exploratory, trial-and-error approaches to problems. Failure is countered
with adaptive behaviour rather than by withdrawal.
7. Autonomy: such learners choose to engage in types of learning that may not
be seen as important or may even be perceived as dangerous within a
particular cultural context.

Planfulness and Internalized Evaluation are very important elements of the concept
of SDL because they describe an individual who is able to engage self-evaluation.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Discuss in pairs at what stage(s) are you as a learner? What teaching
style(s) do you prefer? Is there a match or mismatch? When and why?
In smaller groups, suggest how to develop SDL skills while learning. List
specific activities and assessment outputs that can work well with SDL
tasks.

CONCLUSION
Self-directed learning process promotes student development and
autonomy in learning. By practicing and developing self-direction,
students build skills and habits they can apply in life. This gives
students a sense of empowerment that keeps them motivated and engaged. These
skills are necessary for effective lifelong learning and are one of many learning skills
students are expected to develop in college. The expectation is that students will
become self-directed learners as they mature and gain content knowledge.

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 FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What possible effects self-directed learning has on the growth of a
learner and the learning process?
2. What is the Staged Self-Directed Learning model? How can learners
use it?
3. What self-directed learning skills do you recognize?

LECTURE 2: THE ROLE OF EMOTION IN SELF-

DIRECTED LEARNING

INTRODUCTION
Self‐directed learning is recognised as a key goal of higher education
however it is rare to find the emotional component of SDL discussed
explicitly in the literature. Several recent brain researches confirmed
the importance of emotion in all types of learning as well as in facilitating SDL. The
affective side of learning is the critical interplay between how we feel, act, and
think. Emotions have a strongly judgmental character and therefore give signals
for how current learning and performance situations are experienced. ”Emotions
play a key role, as they influence learning through cognitive resources, learning
strategies, and motivation” (Jensen, 1998; Pekrun, 2000; Rager, 2009).

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
A widely used term emotional intelligence (hereinafter EI) was first
mentioned by two scientists in 1989 - Peter Salovey and John D.
Mayer, however the term was popularized by Daniel Goleman
(1995). Goleman defined EI as the ability to be aware of and to handle one’s
emotions in varying situations. He claimed that EI includes self-awareness, self-
regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill and predicts important
occupational criteria far beyond than those predicted by general intellectual ability.

104
Salovey and Mayer (in Salovey, Brackett, &Mayer, 2004) describes EI as an
individuals' ability to appraise, express and regulate emotions in the self and
others and to make use of these emotions for problem solving. EI is conceptualised
as encompassing three major categories or dimensions of emotional abilities:

1. the appraisal and expression of emotions in the self and others (i.e. the
ability to accurately perceive and express the emotions of the self and others,
enabling socially adaptive behaviours),
2. the regulation of emotions in the self and others (i.e. the ability to control
and modify the emotional states of the self and others, so as to meet
particular goals),
3. the utilisation of emotions in adaptive ways (i.e. the ability to make use of
one's own emotions for solving problems).

Rager (2009) presents an interactive model of self‐directed learning that positions

emotion (Picture 1). The model is presented by integrating information from
diverse bodies of literature that contribute to understanding the link between
learning and emotion. The resulting model provides a more comprehensive and
practical tool for understanding self‐directed learning. The essential premise of the
model (see Picture 1) includes characteristics such context, content, learning, and
process. Each characteristic carries an inherent emotional load that is mediated by
the characteristics of the individual learner.
The CONTEXT component of the model represents the environment within which
the self‐directed learning experience takes place. The CONTENT component of the
model represents the subject matter or topic of the self‐directed learning experience.
Subcategories of this dimension include the complexity, urgency, criticality,
novelty, availability, and general emotional character of the topic to be
investigated through self‐directed learning.

105
 Learner

Picture 1: An interactive model of self‐directed learning

Source: Rager, 2009

The LEARNING component addresses the information processing that takes place
within the brain of the learner. It acknowledges the role of emotion in the learning
process emanating from neuroscience. As suggested by information from brain
research, emotion is essential to learning. The PROCESS component of the model
represents the self‐directed learning process itself. It includes the triggering event,
diagnosing learning needs, formulating goals, identification and selection of
resources, learning strategies, evaluation, decision making, and action (as
mentioned in earlier linear process models of self‐directed learning by Knowles
(1975) and Tough (1971) (Rager, 2009).
The analysis by McCombs and Whisler (1997) reveals the significance of two
elements in driving autonomous or self‐directed learning: (1) self‐regulation and
control of affect; and (2) generation of positive affect and motivation, which are
both core components of EI. The study of Zhoc with colleagues (2018) focused on
the effects of EI on SDL and how EI and SDL contribute to key learning outcomes in
higher education, including grade point average, generic learning outcomes
(including social, cognitive and self‐growth outcomes) and students’ satisfaction
with their university experience. Results indicated that three key emotional
abilities—emotional regulation of the self, appraisal of emotions in the self and
emotional regulation of others —were positively associated with SDL.

106
In the process of achieving learning goals, self-regulation of emotions is very
important so as to override different temptations and short‐term attractions that
may lead to distraction and procrastination in goal‐directed behaviour. The ability
to regulate negative emotions is therefore critical, to sustain study effort and persist
in the face of setbacks in the course of pursuing goals. As to the appraisal of
emotions in the self, it is an important process facilitating self‐reflection, which in
turn is critical for SDL. Given that emotions are signals providing information to an
individual on what is valuable and meaningful, an individual who is well aware of
their own emotions can make good use of this emotional information to guide
thinking and action. Meanwhile, for the emotional regulation of others,
self‐directed learning is fostered by helpful interactions and relationships with
other people, who can offer advice and insight that facilitate individuals to progress
in the course of achieving the learning goals. This study provided empirical
evidence that students who are more emotionally intelligent are more
self‐directed, leading to higher achievement in both academic and generic
development, which in turn results in higher university satisfaction (Zhoc et al.,
2018).
Schweder (2020) has studied association in self-directed learning during
adolescence, which additionally promotes student’s positive emotions. The study
gets more in-depth information about motivation, emotions, and learning
behaviour in self-directed vs. teacher-directed learning (hereinafter also TDL)
settings. According to Saks and Leijen (2014) the main differences between SDL and
TDL arise from the fact that the responsibility for learning alternates between the
instructor and learners. Many studies refer that the dominance of TDL settings
causes rapid loss of motivation in early adolescence and is often linked to weaker
learning behaviour. A key finding of the Schweder (2020) study is that students in
SDL settings perceive more positive emotions compared to students in TDL
settings. The positive emotions mediate all relationships between mastery goal
orientation and learning behaviour in students from SDL, whereas positive
emotions only mediate the relations between mastery goal orientation and
absorption in students from TDL.

107
 PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
When transferred to school practice, this indicates that in SDL
settings, experiencing positive emotions (1) supports the learning
behaviour of students with lower mastery goal orientation, (2) but that even
students with higher mastery goal orientation do not experience any disadvantages
for their learning behaviour. This means that SDL (3) is especially relevant for
heterogeneous learning groups so that students’ learning is promoted regardless of
their level of mastery goal orientation (Schweder, 2020).

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Reflect in pairs your recent strong positive and negative emotions while
learning. What was the situation? What was your task? What did you
do? Why did you feel the emotions? What was the result?

CONCLUSION
The depth of the relationship between emotion and cognition is
often underestimated and misunderstood. It has already been
shown that positive emotions are important psychological
components that stimulate motivation, meta-cognition, and cognition, thereby
positively influencing learning behaviour. Schweder's (2020) finding supports
assumption that positive emotions mediate all relationships between mastery goal
orientation and learning behaviour in students from self-directed learning.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. How can you use the interactive model of self‐directed learning as
a learner?
2. Why emotions play important role in self-directed learning?
3. How do you control your emotions?

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LECTURE 3: SELF-REFLECTION AND METACOGNITION
IN SELF-REGULATED LEARNING

INTRODUCTION
Self-directed learning (SDL) and self-regulated learning (SRL) are
commonly understood as closely related or even identical attitudes
towards learning (Pilling-Cormick & Garrison, 2007; Saks & Leijen, 2014), since the
main factors influencing learning in both SDL and SRL are self-efficacy and
metacognition (Pilling-Cormick & Garrison, 2007). Self-efficacy is a motivational
component which influence the choice of learning activities and strategy use. It is a
perceived value of the learning goal and beliefs of one's capabilities to achieve the
goal (Pilling-Cormick & Garrison, 2007; Pintrich, 2000). Metacognition refers to
one's knowledge and cognition about own cognition (Flavell, 1979).

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
In SDL, individuals play an active role in which they determine
their learning priorities. In SRL individuals set goals, plan their
learning, monitor and regulate their cognition, motivation and
behaviour and evaluate their learning outcomes in a guided environment (Pilling-
Cormick, 2011). The main difference between SDL and SRL stands at the beginning.
In SDL, individuals take responsibility and determine own priorities, they are
free to generate their own learning goals. The emphasis is laid on the external
management of learning (Pilling-Cormick & Garrison, 2007).
Metacognition, defined as thinking about thinking or cognition about cognition,
has according to Flavell (1979) two components - metacognitive knowledge and
metacognitive experiences. Metacognitive knowledge is a storage of believes about
yourself and cognitive processes, tasks and strategies (Flavell, 1979).

TASK FOR STUDENTS

What do you think about your memory and text comprehension? Do you
know the best strategy to remember explicit information from the text?

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The second component of metacognition are metacognitive experiences which are
conscious cognitive or affective experiences (Flavell, 1979, p. 906). Metacognitive
experiences provide internal feedback about current progress, future expectations,
degree of comprehension etc.
Metacognitive experiences activate cognitive strategies - if you are uncertain about
your text comprehension, you may read it once again – and metacognitive
strategies. In accordance with Flavell (1979), these metacognitive strategies consist
of:
 monitoring of progress to accomplish the goal,
 planning how to begin or continue,
 predicting how much time do I need, how much can I remember or
understand,
 evaluating how well I performed or what can I change to the future learning

When learners manage use of different cognitive strategies, they adaptively

regulate their learning. This ability is called metacognitive regulation (Winne,
1996). Metacognitive monitoring and regulation (also called control) are two
processes allowing the flow of information between cognition (world, tasks), where
cognitive strategies are selected, and meta level, where thinking about thinking, i.e.
metacognition, takes place and metacognitive strategies are used (Nelson & Narens,
1990).

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Metacognitive regulation shapes behaviour, it can initiate, continue
or stop an action. To do so, information from metacognitive
monitoring is necessary (Nelson & Narens, 1990; Winne, 1996). How
sure I am that I have understood the difference between monitoring and
regulation? Question about monitoring. Do I need to reread the paragraph?
Question about regulation.

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 TASK FOR STUDENTS
Metacognitive monitoring task – prediction - Think individually about
the text you have just read. At the end, teacher will ask you 5 text-
comprehension questions. How many do you think you will be able to
answer correctly?

Picture 2: Main components of metacognitive monitoring and metacognitive regulation

Source: Nelson & Narens, 1990

The accurate metacognitive monitoring plays a vital role in SRL and SDL. Self-
regulated learners are aware of own skills and knowledge and can accurately
monitor the learning tasks, performance and comprehension (Zimmerman, 1990)
and in the same time actively regulate own performance (Magno, 2009) as
visualized on Picture 2. Self-regulated learning (SRL) is based on metacognitive
monitoring and regulation of own learning influenced by factors of external
environment. Metacognitive monitoring precedes and is necessary for self-
regulating own learning (Winne, 2015). Effective self-directed learners also need

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self-regulation and so accurately monitor own learning process (Saks & Leijen,
2014).
There are several models of SRL: Boekaerts', Efklides', Pintrich's, Winne and
Hadwin's and Zimmerman's. In all of the models, SRL is a cyclical process
composed of different phases (Panadero, 2017; Winne, 2015). Panadero (2017) in
meta-analysis of different SRL models established these three phases of SRL as
essential:

1. Preparatory phase, which includes task analysis, planning and goals setting.
2. Performance phase, in which the task is performed, and monitoring and
regulation processes are operating.
3. Appraisal phase, which includes reflexion, evaluation and adaptation for
future learning.

Preparatory phase includes motivational aspect. Motivation affects desire to

perform a learning activity, goals selection and strategy choice. Prior learning, a
student anticipates type of test or mastery that will be needed. Metacognitive
knowledge, i.e. what learners know about own cognition, and ease-of-learning
judgments, i.e. predictions about how easy or difficult it will be to learn, also
influence goals selection, cognitive strategy choice and allocation of study time.
During performance phase, metacognitive experiences (affects, expectations,
cognitive strategies) can change the learner's task performance, if monitoring
judgments are not accurate. Monitoring judgments; feeling-of-knowing judgments,
i.e. a feeling that learning material is known or will be remembered on a test,
judgments of learning, i.e. predictions about future test performance and
confidence judgments, i.e. postdictions about past learning or performance,
influence termination of learning, seeking assistance or strategy changing, i.e.
metacognitive regulation. Overconfidence in monitoring judgments leads to worse
study performance because students do not sufficiently regulate their learning
(Dunlosky & Rawson, 2012).

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In appraisal phase, students self-evaluate (provide self-evaluation judgments) their
work or learning. They also have to control their affective reactions and attributions
therefore, this phase also includes emotion regulation. As seen, SRL includes the
cognitive, metacognitive, behavioural, motivational, and emotional aspects of
learning (Nelson & Narens, 1990; Panadero, 2017; Winne, 2015).

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Think (or talk) in pairs of your last learning process. What did you do in
three phases of SRL? For better orientation, think about goals setting,
strategies adoption, monitoring of own performance, strategy evaluation
or learning regulation based on monitoring outcomes, self-evaluation and
adaptation for future learning (see also Magno, 2009).

CONCLUSION
Self-regulated learning is a cyclical process containing of three
phases: preparatory, performance and appraisal. Metacognition
operates in each of those phases; metacognitive knowledge is
important in preparatory phase in which learner selects the learning goals and
metacognitive processes (monitoring and regulation) are important for effective
performing. Metacognitive processes can operate consciously or unconsciously, and
they can be accurate or inaccurate (Flavell, 1979; Nelson & Narens, 1990).

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. Recall your prediction about how many questions will you be able to
answer correctly.
2. Provide confidence judgments for each question on a scale from 1 to 10
how sure are you that your answer is correct. 1 means very unsure
and 10 means very sure.
3. Provide self-evaluation judgment on how many of questions did you
answer correctly.
4. Find correct answers in the text and provide yourself internal feedback.

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 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
What is metacognition?
Which two factors influence learning in
both SDL and SRL?
What is metacognitive knowledge?
What are two metacognitive processes?
What are metacognitive strategies?

LECTURE 4: TEACHER EVALUATION IN THE PROCESS

OF SELF-REGULATED LEARNING

INTRODUCTION
“Self-regulated students select and use self-regulated learning
strategies to achieve desired academic outcomes on the basis of
feedback about learning effectiveness and skill” (Zimmerman, 1990, p.
6-7). Learning strategies involve the use of cognition, metacognition, motivation,
affect, and behaviour. Students can be taught to choose the learning strategies and
to manage the learning effectively by providing them feedback.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Learning strategies facilitate information processing and enable
learners to succeed in learning. Learning strategies facilitate
encoding, storing and retrieving of information (Johny, Lukose, &
Magno, 2012; Weinstein, Acee, & Jung, 2011).
The use of learning strategies is developing from the primary schools and once are
internalized, the student can use them in appropriate situations and change them if
it is necessary. However, students struggle of choosing an effective strategy and
often use an ineffective such as rereading and highlighting (Dunlosky et al., 2013;
Johny, Lukose, & Magno, 2012).

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There are three types of cognitive learning strategies: rehearsal, elaboration, and
organization, which refer to information processing. Other learning strategies are
metacognitive learning strategies (metacognitive knowledge and monitoring,
planning, predicting, evaluating), motivation strategies (f.e. self-activation,
maintenance of learning) and approaches to self-regulation (Weinstein, Acee, &
Jung, 2011).
Not all cognitive learning strategies are effective or efficient for learning. Passive
rehearsal strategies, which promote only repetition (f.e. repetition of a definition,
listening over and over a lecturer or rereading) are not effective for meaningful
learning. Highlighting material in a text, the keyword mnemonic, summarization
and imagery use for text learning have also a low utility assessment because can be
used only under limited condition (f.e. summarization and imagery use for text
learning) or do not boost students’ performance.
On the other hand, active rehearsal learning strategies involving more cognitive
processes and meaning building are more effective for reaching learning goals.
Active learning strategies are practice testing, self-explanation and elaborative
interrogation. Elaboration learning strategies involve modifying the material to
make it more memorable and to support comprehension (f.e. trying to apply the
material for real life situations or teaching someone else). Organization strategies
include finding the relations or work out the important information and reorganise
them in order to memorize them more efficiently. Both elaboration and
organization strategies require greater cognitive effort (Dignath, Buettner, &
Langfeldt, 2008; Dunlosky et al., 2013; Weinstein, Acee, & Jung, 2011).
Strategy choice as well as self-regulation can be taught to students to increase their
achievement and motivation to learn. To do so, teachers need to activate students’
self-regulatory processes. SRL training containing planning and monitoring
activities, learning strategies taught and teacher feedback were found to be
beneficial for students (Dignath et al., 2008; Magno, 2009).
The most effective training programmes provide students with feedback (Dignath
et al., 2008; Dunlosky et al., 2013) because feedback decrease overconfidence of
students’ performance (Dunlosky & Rawson, 2015). Self-regulated learner is

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encouraged to ask for feedback from teacher in all three phases of SRL cycle (Butler
& Winne, 1995).

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
In preparatory phase, the learner may confront self-efficacy
believes. Are my learning goals appropriate? Are my plans too ambitious or
too modest? In performance phase, the learner modifies learning strategies or
regulatory processes. Is the used strategy leading me to my goal? In appraisal
phase they improve future learning based on feedback. Was my learning approach
suitable? Should I change anything in the future learning?

In self-regulated learning, different kinds of feedback are used to evaluate students’

performance. Two most common are performance feedback and calibration
feedback. Performance feedback provides information on whether the task solution
was correct or incorrect, calibration feedback provides information about the
correctness of task performance as well as the accuracy of the metacognitive
judgment regarding it (Urban & Urban, 2018). Moreover, performance feedback
during performance phase in SRL improves performance in testing (Dunlosky &
Rawson, 2015).
While performance feedback has an immediate effect, even preschool children can
self-evaluate more accurately after receiving performance feedback (Urban &
Urban, 2020), calibration feedback is more complex and needs more time to enhance
monitoring accuracy (Urban & Urban, 2018; Urban & Urban, 2019), performance
and self-efficacy (Nietfeld, Cao, & Osborne, 2006).

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Recall the number of correctly answer questions from LESSON 3.
Provide yourself performance feedback.
Provide yourself calibration feedback on all judgments you have made.
(For example: “I thought I will be able to solve/ I solved correctly three
questions but in fact I solved correctly two.”)

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 CONCLUSION
Improving monitoring accuracy is a key feature in successful self-
regulated learning (Butler & Winne, 1995; Dunlosky & Rawson, 2015;
Nietfeld, Cao, & Osborne, 2006). Students should be therefore
provided by feedback in all phases of SRL and teachers should lead students to
monitor and regulate their own learning process. Therefore, educators must be aware
of their own learning. According to Flavell (1979), metacognition is defined as
cognition about cognition. It involves reflecting and being aware of ones' own various
cognitive processes. Increasing awareness of teachers' and students' skills is considered
an essential requirement for the development of metacognition in students.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What is the role of metacognitive processes in self-regulated learning?
2. In which phase of self-regulated learning, metacognitive strategies are
used?
3. Which are effective cognitive learning strategies?
4. How can teacher evaluate student's performance in self-regulated
learning?

LECTURE 5: STUDY TASKS AND SELF-MANAGEMENT

SKILLS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION
The following text is based on the assumption that if university
students are to successfully develop strategies and skills for self-
determination and self-management of learning, it is necessary to
describe correctly the environment, culture, organization and expectations
associated with universities. It should be noted at the outset that due to the
different traditions of the development of higher education and higher education

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institutions in individual countries, there is great variability in the terms by which
these institutions are referred to.
Two terms are widely used to describe the segment of schools that follow
secondary education: higher education and tertiary education. Their content of
both terms more or less overlaps, the first is more common in British and North
American publications, the second was adopted in connection with the introduction
of the UNESCO International Classification of Education Degrees (ISCED) and is
common in international studies, statistical reports, and concept papers. More than
terminology, however, it is important what exactly the individual actors represent
under these terms, what expectations arise from the ideas, and what tasks and roles
teachers and students must fulfil.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
The term higher education means education at a college or
university where subjects are studied at an advanced level
(Cambridge dictionary). The International Standard Classification of
Education ISCED 2011 describes higher education as follows: “Tertiary education
builds on secondary education, providing learning activities in specialized fields of
education. It aims at learning at a high level of complexity and specialization.
Tertiary education includes what is commonly understood as academic education
but also includes advanced vocational or professional education. It comprises
ISCED levels 5, 6, 7, and 8, which are labelled as short-cycle tertiary education,
Bachelor’s or equivalent level, Master’s or equivalent level, and doctoral or
equivalent level, respectively. The content of programs at the tertiary level is more
complex and advanced than at lower ISCED levels” (ISCED 2011, p. 46).
Furthermore, UNESCO investigates the situation of education and analyses the
main trends of its development. Among other changes, it is especially a
permanently rising population that enters the tertiary level. One speaks about the
massification accompanying with “lowering of academic standards as universities
and student populations become yet more diversified (Altbach el al., 2009). In the
1990s, the participation rate was around 15 %; now it is over 40 % in many

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countries, and some politicians are signalling a target of up to 60 %” (Biggs & Tang,
2007, p. 4).
The discussion on the idea of a university is not new. Many scholars tried to decide
about the role of higher education in society and about the position of universities
in the process of knowledge creation and transfer. Whitehead argues that: “the
university imparts information, but it imparts it imaginatively… A university
which fails in this respect has no reason for existence. This atmosphere of
excitement, arising from imaginative consideration, transforms knowledge. A fact is
no longer a bare fact: it is invested with all its possibilities. It is no longer a burden
on the memory: it is energizing as the poet of our dreams, and as the architect of
our purposes. Thus, the proper function of a university is the imaginative
acquisition of knowledge. Apart from this importance of the imagination, there is
no reason why businessmen, and other professional men should not pick up their
facts bit by bit as they want them for particular occasions. “A university is
imaginative, or it is nothing - at least nothing useful” (Whitehead in Ramsden,
1992, p. 12, bolded by the author of this chapter).
In conclusion, we could summarize that for the current tertiary or higher education,
it is typical that:

 Learning subjects are not only young adults but also people in other phases
of their life course.
 They already have acquired learning habits and knowledge from the
previous education, they cannot be considered as “tabula rasa” in the sense
of learning techniques and skills.
 The academic environment covers either more experts like, e.g. scientific
content and/or professional kind of future work preparation – these both
sides struggle sometimes for the hegemony.

In short, it must be kept in mind that higher education has been undergoing
significant changes and reforms during at least the last three decades.

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Additionally, the world around keeps moving forward. Here are some most
influential keywords to illustrate this development:

 massification,
 democratization,
 internationalization,
 increasing student diversity,
 struggle between academic and professional programs,
 the two-degree system introduced with the Bologna process,
 liberalization (the university does not keep a monopoly on knowledge,
many, even lay or uneducated people can easily buy or reach demanded
information),
 knowledge inflation (it is difficult to distinguish what is elementary, e.g. the
most important, essential education, many are drowning in the ocean of
facts).

All these key points are also the challenges. If we recall what Whitehead (Ramsden,
1992) wrote, a university (or any similar institution of higher education) becomes
useless, when it loses its uniquity, its spirit, originality, and creativity of thinking.
In the next step, we will describe typical study tasks at higher educational
institutions to explain later what teachers can do to support self-regulated learning
and the imaginative spirit of learning.
Let us assume that students from higher education institutions are obliged to
master various types of activities and for each type of these activities it is possible to
order an appropriate list of skills and teaching approaches (which will be
discussed later). For the purpose of this text we could, with certain amount of
caution, divide all academic tasks common at higher education into four main
subgroups: knowledge transfer and acquisition (this first category leads to
distinguish many other subcategories including information reception, processing,
categorising etc.), knowledge production (what could also be called scientific work,
including re-production of previous state of knowledge, preparing and conducting
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of own research, ability to formulate and public research results etc.), social
dimension of learning, and professional formation and academic ethos. This four-
category division is of course not completely or universally agreed, and it allows all
readers and users to adapt or to add other aspects and tasks of academic work in
higher education.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
It has to be stressed that all four aspects illustrate the reality of a
generalized higher education institution, therefore there will be
remarkable differences among schools, especially with regards to the
type of a higher education institution (academic, professional), in the direction of a
study programme (social sciences, humanities, technical studies etc.) or of overall
country specifics (higher education legislation, national educational policy etc.).
Four categories of tasks refer to a higher or tertiary type of learning and they do not
describe the metacognitive level (or self-determination / self-regulation). This meta-
level goes above and across these four categories as the following scheme clears up.

Table 2: Study tasks categories at higher education

Metalevel (f.e. self-determination, self-regulation, metacognitive skills)

Metalevel influences all four types of skills needed during university study

Knowledge Knowledge Social dimension Professional

transfer and processing and of learning formation and
acquisition production academic ethos

Source: Own elaboration

Knowledge transfer and acquisition: Beginning with ancient Roman and

Byzantine times, through the medieval reborning of erudition in western European
countries until the period of Enlightenment and modernity, the most common
picture of a university is always related to a solid, broad and expert knowledge
base. Most ancient donors gave schools money to buy books, funders now-a-the
day pay for licences to approach online resources. University libraries represented
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and still represent a “container” of concentrated information waiting to be opened,
rediscovered, enlivened, and transferred by and to the next generation. Do not
matter how fast this tradition leaves the position to a new, digital, or virtual kind of
learning, almost every student during the first days and first steps in a campus is
obliged to deal with the following tasks:

 attaining a lecture, that means understanding of spoken language (listening

and comprehension of a lecture), the ability to concentrate, to take notes, to
identify the most important parts of the presentation, to ask questions;
 searching for information, this involves the ability to use all kind of primary
resources effectively, to use searching engines, catalogues, databases; this
category also involves a general orientation in the library environment;
 reading and comprehension of a text, especially the ability to read
effectively, to find quickly important facts, to apply functioning exception
techniques (active learning strategies);
 using new media and modern resources, this ability refers to the current
situation when students spend increasing study time on-line of via which
refers to.

Knowledge processing and production: During the foundation times of modern

European and American universities, it was always important that teaching must
collaborate closely together with research (namely Humboldt and Newman). One
would argue that students are not on the same level as fully qualified researchers
and they must therefore the knowledge more absorb than create. This position is of
course true, but only to some extent. University study - does not matter if strictly
academic or professional - must at least partly simulate the way, how the
knowledge came to light. Through this category students are to develop critical
thinking skills and to conduct own research activity even though they do not aim,
in their professional career, to stay in academic environment. This category consists
of the following tasks:

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  reproduction of knowledge,
 formulation of own ideas, positions or opinions,
 suggesting research design,
 conducting the research process,
 identifying of a problem and conducting all problem-solving process.

Social dimension of learning: As a man is not an isolated island, also higher

education has also an important social dimension which affects both individual and
collective level of student life. To this category constants following tasks:
 orientation in the academic environment, including the campus and all
school facilities,
 understanding and acceptance of a student role,
 teacher – student relation, the common communication related to teaching
and learning situations,
 socialization into the student body,
 social responsibility of higher education institution, relationship between
university and public society, state institution, family, etc.,
 personal responsibility for own study (why, for what expenses, with what
outputs etc.).

Professional formation and academic ethos: Teaching is not only instruction but
mainly formation of persons fostered by the practice of habits and virtues.
 professional socialization,
 academic ethics – freedom, rules, etc.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Analyse ins small groups your own study programme. Identify the most
frequent teaching forms and methods. Estimate what exactly your teachers
expect from you. Decide about differences between learning at a high
school and on the university level. What is the role of self-direction and
self-regulation? What is typical for university culture and environment?

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 CONCLUSION
Self-management skills refer to strategies, techniques and
approaches we use to direct our activities and behaviours
effectively. They help become a successful learner and allow to
maximize productivity, improve workplace performance and efficiently achieve
professional goals. Improving self-management skills can help increase
employability and better manage career path.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What could you do to change the indecisive or surface approach to
pragmatic or deep type?
2. What could you do to benefit deepen your understanding of taught
topics?

LECTURE 6: TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR

ESTABLISHING AND SUPPORT OF SELF-REGULATED
LEARNING

INTRODUCTION
The term self-management became a roof concept referring to many
fields of education, including very broad discussion on personality,
motivation, learning, or communication. As some authors suggest,
the self-management in higher education consists of self-management tasks (what
situations are to be solved, what are typical situations during the learning process)
and self-management skills (what a person is supposed to learn, what are
necessary skills to master learning goals, etc.). Among the most important self-
management tasks during higher education study could be listed understanding of
own role as a part of the whole learning situation (student as a learner), student
relation to the learning process (attitudes, motivation) and the student organization
of work (work management, the decision on and division of resources like time,
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material, expenditures, etc.). As the most important skills, that correspond with the
above-mentioned tasks, are listed interpersonal skills (dealing with the internal
environment, understanding of own personality), motivation skills, time-
management, and some other related domains.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
To distinguish strategies of higher education from those common at
the lower level or in other kinds of institutions (at upper secondary
level, in further education), it is useful to remind what Paul Ramsden
listed as important characteristics of university study. He understands that a
teacher at higher education should fulfil the following expectations:

 a desire to share love of the subject with students,

 an ability to make the material be taught stimulating and interesting,
 a facility for engaging with students at their level of understanding,
 a capacity to explain the material plainly,
 a commitment to making it absolutely clear what has to be understood, at
what level, and why,
 showing concern and respect for students,
 commitment to encouraging student independence,
 an ability to improvise and adapt to new demands,
 using teaching methods and academic tasks that require students to learn
actively, responsibly, and cooperatively,
 using valid assessment methods,
 a focus on key concepts and students' misunderstandings of them, rather
than on covering the ground,
 giving the highest quality feedback on student work,
 a desire to learn from students and other sources (Ramsden, 1992, p. 89).

The term strategy means something more than just how a teacher carries out the
classroom activity. Usually it includes also the overall relationships between a
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teacher and a student combined with broader academic background and
environment, especially rules, guidelines, allocated time for teaching, resources
available for teaching, etc. Approaches to learning also relate to other personal
characteristics of students, besides others to cognitive or learning styles. The
purpose of this text does not allow to compare all possible aspects therefore we will
pay more attention to Ramsden's theory of learning approaches of students at
higher education, and there will be also some references to Kolb's learning types
theory.
Ramsden and his followers pointed out that for the successful higher education, it is
important to take student approaches to learning into account (Ramsden, 1992).
The author differentiates three main categories of students according to their
learning strategies: surface, pragmatic, and deep. From long-term work experience,
we add a fourth category: indecisive.

The dashed line

indicates to what
extent students
acquire the
content.

Picture 3: Study approaches

Source: Own elaboration based on Ramsden

Students with the surface learning approach come to courses with the intention to
overcome obstacles and to gain credits with the minimum of expenditure (with
minimal effort). They are not interested in the content of other aspects of higher
education except what the teacher demands for the final test of examination. This
approach has many reasons. Very often these students do not understand and
accept their role as a member of academia. They also do not see any relevant
meaning of the content for them and their lives. Sometimes, they are persons who
have some other priorities and a course does not go well with them (for example,
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when all students from different programmes must complete some common
courses, nevertheless they are relevant to their direction).
Students with the pragmatic learning approach go further than the previous. They
know very well what their aims are and what they want to achieve in their lives of
profession. This position allows them to evaluate the content according to the
potential benefits. It is essential for them to see that what they learn relates to what
they will do or how it would be possible to apply the acquired knowledge. Some of
these students already have professional experience and it is easy for them to
discover whether the new information corresponds with the world of work and real
life. They prefer practical outputs for the theory (which does not exclude also some
theoretical background; in this case the type corresponds with Kolb, they would
probably belong to a converging or accommodating learning style). Strong point of
this category is students’ ability to self-organization, students can effectively
manage their time and meet deadlines.
Students with deep learning approach belong usually to a minority of learning
subjects. They need to learn because they want to understand. Their favourite
question is “Why?” and they are not satisfied with uncompleted or unproven facts.
They study for their love to knowledge or the subject, they are usually curious on
the beginning and exited when the curtain of a course rises, and new horizon of
science appear. Their approach could be very demanding, even difficult for some
lecturers, as it is common that these students ask intelligent questions and discuss
with enthusiasm. It could happen that they can be disappointed if the reality does
not meet their expectations. Then they withdraw or even change their approach to
the surface level. Sometimes it is difficult for them to finish a course in time to even
finish the course at all for their incompetence to manage time and respect deadlines.
Comparing with Kolb's learning style theory, this type would probably be closer to
diverging and assimilating learners, who like reflecting on concrete experience
(not only “What happened?” but also “Why?”) and like theorising.
Finally, there is the fourth category added of the study approach - indecisive
students. It could be argued that this is not approach in the true sense of the word.
These persons are standing before the gates of new learning experience and are

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waiting for a guide who would enlighten them what is going to happen. They do
not know much either about course content, course objectives, or course
assignments. Unfortunately, sometimes it happens that they do not orient
themselves during the course and are lost, indifferent, unmotivated, and soon or
late they drop out. This group deserves more attention from both lecturers and
support staff. It is necessary to provide proper study guidance and to ensure that
there will be sufficient contact and interaction with the responsible teacher and also
other students. There is a significant danger they could fix the surface approach in
case they do not find convincing meaning in their study.
Teaching methods in higher education are widely discussed in the literature (Biggs
& Tang, 2007; Gibbs, 2014; Ramsden 1992). There is no doubt that there is relation
between the selected method, ongoing student activities, and other effects,
especially visible in the way how students understand their own learning and how
they overtake responsibility for own learning and development.

In the second part of this publication (Social Constructivist Didactic Guide), you
will find the most effective teaching methods for activating students. In the text
below, there is description of the most common teaching methods. Each method is
linked to the most typical tasks (activity) expected from students. In the table, each
cell indicates to which extent the method is appropriate for a given category of
tasks (+++ very appropriate, ++ partially appropriate, + less suitable), see Table 3.
Lecture represents the most common and probably the oldest teaching method in
higher education. The main purpose of the lecture is knowledge transfer and
acquisition. However, according to Gibbs (2014) “over 700 studies confirmed that
lectures are less effective than a very wide range of other methods for achieving almost every
educational goal you can think of.” The same author goes on and warns that even for
the transition of factual information there are many other and more effective
methods, like private reading. Firstly, we must answer the question if the lecture is
an appropriate method, and if yes, what form of lecturing is the most effective.

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 Table 3: Relation between study tasks and teaching methods

academic ethos
formation and
Professional
transfer and
Knowledge

Knowledge
production
acquisition

dimension
Social
Lecturing +++ + + +++

Small group teaching / seminary ++ ++ +++ ++

Self-directed learning +++ +++ + +

Practices ++ ++ ++ ++

Computer assisted learning +++ ++ + +

Problem-based learning ++ +++ + ++

Experiential / workplace learning + +++ ++ +++

Source: Own elaboration

Exley and Dennick (2007) list several ideas, what can traditional lectures do well:
 communicating enthusiasm for the topic,
 providing a structure or framework,
 tailoring content to the students' needs,
 providing current information,
 using another method is not viable.

There are other ways how to make teaching more interactive and how to support
indeed, responsible and self-regulated learning. Besides others, it could be a
tutorial system and one-to-one approach with regular teacher-student contact.
Individualization would allow more space for looking own learning trajectory, on
the other hand, there is less and less time space in massified higher education for
individual consultations.

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 PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Other strategies can focus on the development of a participative
approaches, for example, as a part of small group teaching, student
project work, discussions, problem solving groups, or work based
education. Here are some other recommendations:

 Teachers should clearly convey to students the main idea of a course, the
main aims, and essential intended learning outcomes.
 It is worth to provide students sufficient support materials and to advise
them how to in it.
 Students can become “managers” of their own projects, either research
projects or work-based projects.
 Student can be asked to work in groups, where they must learn team roles,
effective communication, and responsibility to others.
 The teacher can let students decide about some parts of the curriculum;
students can then choose what to study and how to study, through own
enquiry, students can enjoy more space to arrange their own learning.
 Application of learning management systems and other tools that allow
students to see the structure of a subject, to become aware of its extent, and
to be able to control their way step by step through a course.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Go back to the table “Relation between study tasks and teaching
methods”. Try to evaluate listed teaching strategies according to their
impact on your approach to learning. What can exactly be done to acquire
at least a pragmatic or even deep level?

CONCLUSION
Self-direction and self-regulation also relate to the idea and the
conception of a university. It is important to clear out what
expectations and what tasks are students required to complete

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during their journey through courses. Teachers could affect student approaches to
learning especially by choosing stimulating and effective methods, for example,
interactive lecturing or problem-solving activities.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What study tasks are typical for your courses? What kind of activities
are you supposed to fulfil?
2. How do you estimate your study approach and the study approach of
your schoolmates? For what reasons do you adopt such an approach?

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Institute of Education and Communication of the Czech University

©
of Life Sciences Prague, The Czech Republic

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 Mehmet Emin Bakay – Şaban Çelik – Tolga Şentürk

TEACHING MODULE 5

Creativity
and Innovation
MOTTO: “It is not the strongest or most intelligent who will survive
but those who can best manage change.”
Charles Darwin

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 LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF THE MODULE
The learning objective of the module is that students will be able
 to learn theoretical perspectives and models of creativity and
innovation,
 to illustrate appropriate techniques and strategies to enhance creativity,
 to demonstrate tangible and intangible encouragement methods and tools to
encourage innovation skills,
 to apply innovative thinking methods and techniques into practical contexts,
 to identify tactics and strategies for development of creative processes,
 to discuss ways to deal with complex challenges with a creative perspective
and innovative outlook.

LECTURE 1: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES AND

MODELS OF CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

INTRODUCTION
It is essential to conduct the first lecture with the presentation of
creativity theorists and their contribution to innovation. Although
there are various theoretical approaches to creativity and innovation
in different contexts, there is a general consensus on the basic definitions of these
concepts, even if there are differences in practice. “While creativity is seen as the
aptitude to produce an original work (Sternberg ve Lubart, 1999), innovation is
understood as a new product, service, process or application of the system” (OECD
& EUROSTAT, 1996).
Apart from these basic definitions, there are also some different conceptualizations.
“For example, while creativity is the skill to evaluate the opportunities that no one
else has seen innovation brings novelty and benefits with some practices to
business, employee and organization (West and Richards, 1999). According to a

136
more general approach, innovation is considered as the implementation of a created
value or idea” (Craft, 2005).

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1. Creativity Theories
The literature on creativity has grown exponentially since 1950s. This
section is very short synthesis of these theories (Developmental,
Psychometric, Economic, Stage and Componential Process, Cognitive, Problem
Solving and Expertise Based, Problem Finding, Evolutionary, Typological,
Systems) which are explained very well in Kozbelt, Beghetto, and Runco (2010).

1.1 Developmental Theories

Within the framework of this approach, researchers examine the impact of
individual’s family and the social environment on the potential of creativity. Some
studies include longitudinal data analyses. These studies generally argue that the
person’s family structure (Albert and Runco, 1989) and the environment in which
they live (Goertzel and Goertzel, 1976) influence the level of creativity.
Development theories explain the impact of games and entertainment (Pearson,
Russ and Cain Spannagel, 2008), the number of children (Gaynor and Runco, 1998)
and the level of freedom in the family structure (Albert and Runco, 1989) on the
level of creativity.

1.2 Psychometric Theories

Psychometric theories develop scales to measure creativity. They are important for
testing the validity of existing creativity theories, even though they do not provide
an explanation for the nature of creativity. These tests show important results in
order to distinguish creativity from intelligence, convergent thinking and similar
concepts. Psychometric tests give importance to measuring the effect of the
environment in which the individual is located, as well as the validity and
reliability of the scales used to measure the level of creativity of the individual.

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Structure of Intellect (SOI) Theory (Guilford, 1968) and Torrance Test of Creative
Thinking (Torrance, 1974) are examples of this approach.

1.3 Economic Theories

Economic theories generally emphasize the relationship of the economy with
creativity and its impact on creativity. They argue that number of people in the
environment constrain the creativity due to inhibition of brainstorming techniques.
Additionally, they claim that as the level of knowledge and expertise increases, the
trend towards different alternatives will decrease. This approach focuses on the
environmental factors that would create creativity. In other words, the role of
exogenous factors in the emergence of creativity has been addressed in an economic
benefit-cost analysis.

1.4 Stage and Componential Process Theories

This theory is developed to understand the nature and structure of creativity via
stages and componential processes. According to this theory, creativity is claimed
to occur as a result of some stages, which may be sequential or recursive. The most
well-known model developed by Wallas (1926) consists of four sequential stages.
These stages are preparation stage (definition of the problem), incubation stage
(process of thinking), illumination stage (emergence of an idea) and verification
stage (examination of the accuracy of the idea).

 Cognitive Theories
Cognitive theories put the creative process and creative people at its centre. Within
the framework of this approach, it is argued that cognitive functioning is the basis
for the formation of creative thinking. The creative individual is the ones who
make a difference in this process. In this context, Guilford (1968) has developed the
Theory of Structure of Intellect by defining cognitive functioning processes.

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  Problem Solving and Expertise Based Theories
Problem solving and expertise-based approaches can also be seen as part of
cognitive processes in general. In this approach, creativity is defined as a rational
process that occurs on the basis of cognitive processes and field expertise. In this
approach, it is emphasized that, for example, a problem without a single solution
develops creativity.

 Problem Finding Theories

According to this theory, an appropriate problem must be found first and then the
solution must be developed (Runco, 1994). Within the framework of the problem-
finding approach, creative people are defined as those who proactively identify the
problem and then produce solutions with a subjective and exploratory behaviour.

 Evolutionary Theories
Some researchers have proposed an evolutionary approach to explain creativity
(Simonton, 1988, 1997). Simonton argues that both experience and genetic factors
contribute the development of scientific talent. He calculates the genetic influence
of talent on creative achievement in science. This approach is used to explain the
situation of distinguished people with very high creativity level.

 Typological Theories
In this approach, the differences in creativity are divided into a certain typology.
These differences are personality traits of a creative individual, his/her career
preferences, his/her working methods and so on.

 Systems Theories
System theories conceptualizes creativity not as a single phenomenon but as a
subcomponent of a complicated system. This approach essentially states that
creativity occurs as a result of interrelated and interactive factors. Major
contributors to the system theory approach include Gruber (1981), Csikszentmihalyi
(1988) and Sawyer (2006).

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 Table 1: General Description of Main Category of Creativity Theories

Category Primary Assertion Key Concepts References

Developmental Creativity develops over time (from Place and family structures Helson (1999)
potential to Role of play Subotnik and Arnold (1996)
achievement); mediated by an interaction Support during transitions Albert and Runco (1989)
of person and environment. Longitudinal process
Multivariate influences
Psychometric Creativity can be measured reliability and Reliable and valid measurement Guilford (1968)
validly; Discriminant validity Wallach and Kogan (1965)
differentiating it from related constructs Thresholds
(IQ) and highlighting its domain-specific Domain specificity
nature.
Economic Creative ideation and behavior is Influence of macro-level factors Rubenson and Runco
influenced by “market forces” and cost- Psycho-economic perspective (1992,1995)
benefit analyses. Markets of creativity Florida (2002)
Investment decisions Sternberg and Lubart
(1992,1995)
Stage & Creative expression proceeds through a Preparation stages Wallas (1926)
Componential series of stages or components; the process Incubation and insight Runco and Chand (1995)
Process can have linear and recursive elements. Verification and evaluation Amabile (1999)
Component mechanisms
Cognitive Ideational thought processes are Remote association Mednick (1962)
foundational to creative persons and Divergent/convergent thinking Guilford (1968)
accomplishments. Conceptual combination, Finke, Ward and Smith (1992)
expansion
Metaphorical thinking, imagery
Metacognitive processes

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Problem Creative solutions to ill-defined problems Ill-defined problems Ericsson (1999)
Solving result from a rational process, which reliesCognitive, computational Simon (1981, 1989)
& on general cognitive processes and domain approach Weisberg (1999, 2006)
Expertise- expertise. Expertise-based approaches
Based Problem representation &
heuristics
Problem Creative people proactively engage in a Subjective creative processes Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi
Finding subjective and exploratory process of Exploratory behaviors (1976)
identifying problems to be solved. On-line discovery Runco (1994)
Evolutionary Eminent creativity results from the Chance-configuration Campbell (1960)
(Darwinian) evolutionary-like processes of blind Blind generation of ideas Simonton (1988, 1997)
generation and selective retention. Selective retention of ideas
Equal-odds rule
Social judgment and chance
Typological Creators vary along key individual Individual differences Galenson (2001, 2006)
differences, which are related to both Categories of creators Kozbelt (2008)
macro- and micro-level factors and can be Seekers versus finders
classified via typologies. Integrate multiple levels of
analysis
Systems Creativity results from a complex system of Evolving systems Gruber (1981)
interacting and interrelated factors. Network of enterprises Csikszentmihalyi (1988a)
Domain and field Sawyer (2006)
Gatekeepers
Collaborative creativity
Chaos and complexity
Source: Kozbelt, Beghetto, and Runco (2010)

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2. Innovation
In the Oslo Guide, which is one of the important studies on innovation, innovation is
defined as follows: “the implementation of a new or significantly improved product
(good or service), or process, a new marketing method, or a new organizational
method in business practices, workplace organization or external relations” (OECD
& EUROSTAT, 1996: 50).
Although there are many types of innovations, this section will be reserved to the
most prominent ones: Incremental - Radical Innovation; Technology - Management
Innovation and Product - Process Innovation (Utterback, 1994).

2.1 Incremental - Radical Innovation

Incremental innovation refers to some small-scale changes to improve an existing
systems, products or services. The radical innovations, on the other hand, focus on
revolutionary structural changes targeting to replace the existing services, products
or systems. As innovations shift from incremental innovation to radical innovation,
the risk that the organization or business takes will increase. Scuilli (1998), in his
study in the banking sector, revealed that incremental innovation is related to the
size of the firm, and large firms are more open to this type of innovation. Ettlie et al.
(1984) emphasized that radical innovations are more common in businesses with
high centralization and low bureaucratic transactions. On the other hand, there are
those who say that firm size is inversely related to radical innovations (Dougherty &
Hardy, 1996).

2.2 Technology - Management Innovation

While technological innovation refers to the process in which a new idea is embodied
in procedures, devices or tools that are of practical value to society, management
innovation includes changes that affect the organization’s policies, the procurement
of its resources or the social structure (Daft, 1978).

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2.3 Product-Process Innovation
While product innovation includes changes in the product or service, process
innovation refers to changes in the production or supply stages of these products and
services (Utterback, 1994). Business strategies and organizational structure are
directly related to product (Parthasarthy and Sethi, 1992) and process (Dess and
Davis, 1984) innovations. In addition, both product and process innovations are
associated with the strategic changes of businesses and organizations.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Science fiction movies may inspire technological inventions. To take
one example: The first usage of a hologram representing an individual
was in the science fiction movie “Star Wars: A New Hope”. In this movie Princess
Leia’s image was projected as a hologram. Inspired by this projection, scientists have
managed to create the 3D imaging technique to create the illusion of depth in an
image.

Picture 1: Robin Zabiegalski (2017, 25 April)

Source: https://thetempest.co/2017/04/25/now-beyond/tech-money/tech-inspired-by-science-
fiction/

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 TASK FOR STUDENTS
Try to solve the following puzzle. The goal of this puzzle is to connect all
9 dots by drawing four continuous straight lines without taking your pen
off the page and without tracing the same line more than once. This task
will help to improve your creative thinking skills.

Picture 2: The nine-dot puzzle

Source: Authors of this chapter

CONCLUSION
Creativity is linked to the concepts of mostly inspiration and
freedom. This arouses the interest that creativity is only in art, such as
music and painting. This is a restrictive approach. The fact that
creativity plays a role wherever information exists demonstrates the applicability of
creativity, especially in terms of educational sciences. Therefore, creativity is
effective in the information processing and inference processes in the field of
education. As Miller (1986: 248) states, “creativity has not been a serious lesson
especially in university education. However, creativity must be the basis of the
modern liberal education system in order to increase student performance”.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. Define the concept of creativity and innovation by giving some
practical examples.
2. What are the major theoretical perspectives in the field of creativity?
3. Explain the following innovation types in detail: Incremental - Radical
Innovation; Technology - Management Innovation and Product -
Process Innovation.
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 LECTURE 2: STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES TO
ENHANCE CREATIVITY

INTRODUCTION
This lecture introduces students the strategies of creative thinking that
will stimulate their imaginations. In this lecture, we will present several
basic creative strategies. Our main goal is to discuss innovative
strategies and techniques to enhance creativity.
As the importance of creativity is understood, many creativity programs and
methods in the field of education have been developed over the years (Bull,
Montgomery and Balloche, 1995). Some research has been done to measure the
effectiveness of these training programs and methods (Clapham, 2003; Nickerson,
1999; Scott, Leritz, and Mumford, 2004). When the results of these studies are
evaluated, it is seen that two issues stand out in the development of creativity. The
first is to develop the creativity potential. Secondly, the results of aforementioned
studies provide people with the knowledge and skills to develop creative ideas.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1. Developing creativity potential
Some of the training programs designed to develop creativity
potential are Hemisphericity, Psychogenics and Psychosynthesis.
These programs are aimed at developing the mental relationships necessary for the
brain to perform creative activities (Clapham, 2003). These trainings consist of
visuality, relaxation, artistic activities, music and physical movements.

2. Generating creative ideas

Unlike training programs aimed at developing creativity potential, there are also
practical training programs aiming to reveal creative ideas. The most well-known
programs developed on this subject are Osborn’s Creative Problem-Solving
Program and the brainstorming program. In these programs, Osborn wanted to

145
ensure that groups produce creative ideas effectively and efficiently by applying a
certain set of rules.

3. Techniques for enhancing creativity

This section offers a presentation of some of the most used techniques for enhancing
creativity: brainstorming, synectics, lateral and vertical thinking, hemisphericity,
Khatena training method and packaged educational programs.

3.1 Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a method developed by Osborn. The main purpose of this method
is to trigger a better idea that will emerge in the group work. In other words, the idea
of an individual in the group allows other individuals to come up with another idea
that would not normally come to mind.

3.2 Synectics
In order to identify and solve problems that depends on creative thinking and
informal conversation among a small group of individuals with diverse experience
and expertise, Gordon and Prince propose this method. The aim of this strategy is to
reveal the similarities of individuals in different items and to develop different
ideas about these items. This strategy states and problems based upon creative
thinking by a small, meticulously chosen, and diversely specialized group.
Synectics relies heavily on human creativity and consciously uses some mental
mechanisms of pre-consciousness.

3.3 Lateral and Vertical Thinking

Edward de Bono (1970) defines two ways of thinking: Lateral and Vertical thinking.
The application of the existing idea is essential in vertical thinking. In other words,
digging the same hole deeper. However, it is essential to develop a new idea in
lateral thinking. This is digging a hole somewhere else. This training type is the
opportunity to develop new ideas that are essential in the creativity program.

146
3.4 Hemisphericity
As Herrmann claims, our brain’s two hemispheres are specialized for different jobs.
From this perspective, the left hemisphere is more effective in sequential
computing. The right hemisphere is more effective in information processing at the
same time. Therefore, the right hemisphere is more effective in establishing
relationships between items that are distant from each other. Hemisphere creativity
trainings are aimed at ensuring that this feature of the right hemisphere is properly
balanced for both hemispheres. For this purpose, visual techniques, relaxation
techniques, art and music are used in such creativity trainings.

3.5 Khatena Training Method

Khatena’s (1973) creativity training program consists of (a) breaking away from the
obvious and common place, which means viewing the environment in a different
perspective, (b) transposition of ideas which means transferring an idea into a
different way of expression, (c) analogy which means examining unexpected
similarities between objects, (d) restructuring which means reorganizing the
component of a given structure, and (e) synthesis which means incorporating the
new idea into a given structure.

3.6 Packaged Educational Programs

The Purdue Creative Thinking Program is one of the well-known packaged
education programs in which divergent thinking is emphasized. In this program,
stories of famous creative peoples are presented in order to enhance creativity. Along
with this, practical exercises are conducted. The Productive Thinking Program is
another one to develop creative problem-solving skills. Its target is to improve self-
confidence towards problem-solving.

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 Table 2: Differences between Lateral and Vertical Thinking
Vertical Thinking Lateral Thinking
Selective: choosing among Generative: creating new alternatives
alternatives
Progresses the ideas generated by Improves the effectiveness of vertical
lateral thinking thinking
Traditional Searching for post-modern approaches
Needs correction at every step Does not need correction at every step
Concentrating on and eliminating Examining different approaches to find the
irrelevant approaches most promising
Analytical and sequential Provocative and can make jumps if
necessary
Fixed categories and labels Categories, etc. not fixed
Focusing on most likely approaches Also searching for least likely approaches
Correctness cannot be disregarded Richness is essential in lateral thinking
Finite process Probabilistic process: explore chances of an
optimal solution without guaranteeing one
Direct approach Also explores indirect approaches for
promising alternatives
Source: Koçak (2019)

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Lateral thinking can be applied to all kinds of challenges that we might
encounter in our daily lives. If we adopt lateral thinking, it may help us
to improve our living conditions.

Picture 3: Kindred Agency (2019, Apr. 26). Get Lost! Why lateral thinking is the only thing
that will save business (Blog)
Source: https://medium.com/@kindred.agency/get-lost-why-lateral-thinking-is-the-only-thing-that-
will-save-business-6c125d23e92c
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 TASK FOR STUDENTS
Form a group composed of three members from your class. Decide a new
product to introduce a target audience. By using a brainstorming
technique, try to identify a target market for this new product.

CONCLUSION
Creative thinking improves with the application of appropriate
techniques and strategies for the execution of key processes involved
in creative thought. Different cognitive strategies should be
employed while executing different forms of knowledge in solving creative
problems.
FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What are the main differences between vertical thinking and lateral
thinking?
2. What are the most used techniques for enhancing creativity?
3. Explain the main stages of Khatena’s creativity training program.

LECTURE 3: METHODS AND TOOLS TO ENCOURAGE

INNOVATION SKILLS

INTRODUCTION
There are three proposed approaches to turn creative ideas into
innovative solutions. The first approach (user-centred design) is that
user should be at the centre of innovation (Brown, 2008). The second
approach (multidisciplinary teams) argues that participants should work
collaboratively during innovation process (Kostoff, 2003). The third approach
(project-based learning) creates a learning environment that fosters creativity and
teamwork (Dym, et.al, 2005). This lecture presents main tangible and intangible

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encouragement methods of innovation and tools that foster productive strategic
discussions on innovation.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1. User-centred design
Users, products and markets are well defined in this approach (Lim
and Sato, 2006). According to this approach, innovation is expected to
be useful and reliable to bring benefits to users. In this respect, user-centred design
increases the marketability of the product. User-centred designs require a good
review of the experiences of existing users. The innovative product should be safe to
use. In respect to this, prototype production is encouraged in the innovation process
and real users test the prototype before starting production (Lindfors, 2010).

2. Multidisciplinary teams
The second important feature of creativity trainings is the creation of
interdisciplinary teams. One of the most important indicators of creativity
performance is the variety of teams that are created (Austin, 1997). It is argued that
teams composed of different specialties often create dynamic synergies and create
innovative products (Kostoff, 2003). Heterogeneous groups (considering gender
distribution) have been reported, for instance, to have high levels of innovative
performance (Hoffman and Maier, 1961).

3. Project-based learning
Another important feature of innovation training is that it has a project-based
structure. Project-based innovation trainings increase the attention of the participants
on the subject (Newell, 2003). In such innovation trainings, the participants are first
directed to find and examine the problem. Then, participants are expected to
produce innovative solutions. Developing products for real users within projects is a
common education method at universities (Pimmel, 2001). It is stated that project-
based innovation training is more efficient than a classical teaching training (Dym,
etal., 2005).

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 PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Big technology companies, such as Apple and Microsoft, launch their
security bounty programs by offering to give rewards anyone who
might find vulnerabilities in their products. Since these companies
might even ready to pay up to 1 million dollars, these kinds of incentives might
encourage people’s innovation skills.

Picture 4: CISOMAG (2017, 28 November), Bug Bounty Programs: Closing Security Gaps
Source: https://www.cisomag.com/whitepaper-bug-bounty-programs/

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Try to imagine setting up a streaming platform, such as Netflix, by using
user-centred design model.

CONCLUSION
Innovation skills refer to the ability of original thinking that helps to
convert knowledge into favourable concrete outputs. Innovators are
curious and imaginative people who are willing to take risks at all costs. There is a
common misconception and an illusion that innovation skills cannot be mastered
while, in fact, everyone has some potential capacity for innovative thinking.

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 FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What are the most popular approaches for turning creative ideas into
innovative solutions?
2. What are the advantages of project-based learning?

LECTURE 4: APPLYING INNOVATIVE THINKING

METHODS AND TECHNIQUES INTO ACTUAL
PRACTICES

INTRODUCTION
This lecture presents some methods and techniques that encourage
continuous innovation. In order to apply innovative thinking methods
into actual practices, we will specifically focus on Johannessen and
Stokvik’s (2019) following tools and methods of creative process development:
Examine your personal assumption, opinions, and those of others; First the overall
situation then the existing context; Modular understanding; Analogies and
metaphors ; Expansion of opportunities.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
First Method: Examine your personal assumption, opinions, and
those of others.
In order to solve a problem, the first thing to do is to consider all
perspectives, including those that are different from ours. For not being misled by
premises and assumptions, we should develop some quantitative measurement
indicators. Even while acknowledging the necessity of development of objective
indicators, we can hardly deny that these indicators might serve personal fulfilment.
Therefore, we should not set any limits to our perspective, and we should expand
our outlook to find alternative solutions.

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Second Method: First the overall situation then the existing context
Since all problems are parts of larger problems, we should analyse the whole
situation as our starting point. Once we have established an overview of the whole
situation, we may focus on our particular challenges. We may distinguish larger
problems from specific ones, and we may find solutions by bringing diverse
approaches together.

Third Method: Modular understanding

This method proposes to identify a problem as consisting of lego bricks. By using the
Lego brick method, it is possible to break down established structures. As there are
multiple ways of combination of Lego bricks, there are various solutions to our
challenging situations.

Fourth Method: Analogies and metaphors

This method requires to ask a group of people to develop ideas for finding a solution
to a problem by developing and using a metaphor or analogy. Metaphors and
analogies are expected to generate some ideas for solving the problem.

5. Fifth Method: Expansion of opportunities

This method proposes to find a topic that is not visibly related to our challenging
problem. Afterwards, we are expected to juxtapose some random ideas (chosen from
that topic) with our problem. The main aim of this method is to develop an
unaccustomed way of thinking and to trigger new ideas for solving our problem.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Vicky the Viking, was an animated TV series, originally aired from
1974 to 1976. It was a German, Austrian and Japanese co-production.
The series main character, Vicky, was a timid boy about 10 years old,
who was using his strong imagination and creative mind to solve any kind of
problems with which he is confronted. Since cartoons influence children’s way of

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thinking, it might be a good idea to teach how to apply innovation thinking methods
and techniques into actual practices.

Picture 5: Vicky, the main character of the animated TV Series, Vicky the Viking
Source: https://www.anisearch.de/character/65960,wickie

TASK FOR STUDENTS

By using modular understanding method, try to find a solution for the
problem of traffic jam during rush hours.

CONCLUSION
Applying innovative thinking means usage of information and
knowledge in new situations or to create new knowledge.
Johannessen and Stokvik’s (2019) tools of creative process
development, presented in this lecture, provide important materials designed to help
anyone who wants to implement an innovation and to develop innovation skills.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What does modular understanding creative process development model
mean according to Johannessen and Stokvik (2019)?
2. How do we expand our opportunities according to Johannessen and
Stokvik (2019) in order to generate new ideas?

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 LECTURE 5: TACTICS AND STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP
CREATIVE PROCESSES

INTRODUCTION
In this lecture, we will present some of the following tactics and
strategies that are developed by Johannessen and Stokvik (2019) in
their book ‘Evidence-based Innovation Leadership’ for thinking
creatively: Shifting perspective; Try to visualize how you think; Recombine;
Removing the context; Co-creation.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

First strategy: Shifting perspective

This strategy requires to change our perspective systematically. It
proposes to consider our problem from four distinct angles. The first angle is to
evaluate the problem from a position of self-first, by asking a question such as: what
are the benefits for me? The second angle is to view the problem from another
person’s perspective. The third angle is to identify the problem from the angle of a
neutral person. The fourth angle attempts to view the problem from a systemic
perspective by asking a question such as: how does the problem influence the whole
system?

Second strategy: Try to visualize how you think

This strategy is based on the premise that language prevents us to realize the
complexity of reality. From this perspective, we should try to use visual
representations to express ourselves. It is argued that creativity would develop by
freeing us from the limits of linguistic structures.

Third strategy: Recombine

This strategy recommends selecting diverse elements and then recombine them
randomly. The main idea of this strategy is that connection of different knowledge,

155
information, concepts and ideas might help us to see the problem from a different
perspective, and thus this recombination of different elements might trigger new
ideas.

Fourth strategy: Removing the context

This strategy focuses on the parts. It is recommended to remove the whole context
and to encourage the parts to fit into a new irrelevant larger pattern. The main idea
is to prepare conditions as favourable as possible for emergence of new creative
thoughts in the new contexts.

Fifth strategy: Co-creation

This strategy requires to establish a genuine dialogue with the aim flourishing
creative ideas. What is understood by genuine dialogue is to listen the other person
without prejudice and to wait a while before responding. This strategy is based on
the idea that a creative dialogue should limit spontaneous reactions by inserting
pauses into dialogues.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Advertisements use diverse tactics and strategies to develop creative
processes. They create original thoughts in the new contexts. The
advertisement on Picture 6 is an illustrative example which gives
creativity a new edge.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

By using the strategy ’Try to visualize how you think’, design
a wayfinding signage system for organization of Olympic Games

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 Picture 6: Ankita Goyal (2018, 13 September), 30 Innovative Subway Ads That Gave
Creativity a New Edge (Blog)
Source: https://medium.com/@ankitagoyal102/30-innovative-subway-ads-that-gave-creativity-a-
new-edge-37ff25d4fc40

CONCLUSION
Although there are different strategies to develop creative processes,
there is only one common theme underlying each approach: free our
minds from ordinary, traditional and conservative way of thinking.
Each strategy demonstrates us how to improve our creativity skills by using
appropriate methods and techniques.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. Explain ‘Removing the context strategy’ according to Johannessen and
Stokvik (2019)?
2. How do Johannessen and Stokvik (2019) explain the establishment of
conditions of a genuine dialogue?

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LECTURE 6: CREATIVE PERSPECTIVE AND INNOVATIVE
OUTLOOK TO COMPLEX CHALLENGES

INTRODUCTION
As an essential part of development of creative and innovative abilities,
it is vital to discuss how to evaluate and interpret familiar with an
imaginative approach. In this lecture, we specifically focus on two
educational creative problem-solving models: Thinking Actively in a Social Context
(TASC) and Creative Problem Solving (CPS) model.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Thinking Actively in a Social Context (TASC)
It is a problem-solving model that is based on an assumption that it is
possible to train the brain and to improve the thinking capacity.
Wallace et al. (2012) proposes to follow eight stages to overcome any kind of
challenges:

1. Gathering and organizing knowledge based on problems (What do I already

know about this?)
2. Identifying problem-solving ideas (What is the task?)
3. Generating problem-solving ideas (How many ideas can I think of?)
4. Deciding and determining the best ideas in the problem-solving process
(Which is the best idea?)
5. Implementing the ideas in the problem-solving process (Let’s do it!)
6. Evaluating the results of problem-solving related to student knowledge (How
well did I do?)
7. Communicating the results of problem-solving in the classroom to get advice
and input (Let’s tell someone!)
8. Learning from experience-reflecting the learning outcomes obtained during
the problem-solving process (What have I learned?)

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Creative Problem-Solving (CPS)
The Creative Problem-Solving program is an educational program developed by
Osborn and Parnes. The Creative Education Foundation (Parnes, 1987; 1999)
currently implements it. In its current structure, the program is operated in four
stages. These stages are Clarify (make sure whether we are dealing with the right
problem), Ideate (generate some ideas to address our challenge), Develop
(formulation of ideas and creating solutions) and Implement (implement an action
plan).

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
MacGyver was a TV series that aired from 1985 to 1992. This TV series
was so popular all around the world by its title character. He was
shown to possess extraordinary skills to solve any kind of a problem
that he encounters. The creator of this character, Lee D Zlotoff wrote a book, in 2016,
The MacGyver Secret: Connect to Your Inner MacGyver and Solve Anything, in
order to share some tips about developing creative problem-solving skills.

Picture 7: Lee D. Zlotoff (2016, 18 October), Learn the “MacGyver Secret” to Problem
Solving Under Pressure (Blog)
Source: https://makezine.com/2016/10/18/learn-the-macgyver-secret-to-problem-solving-under-
pressure/

159
 TASK FOR STUDENTS
By adopting the stages of Thinking Actively in a Social Context (TASC)
model proposed by Wallace et al. (2012), try to formulate convincing
arguments to make more people to wear face masks in public spaces
during COVID-19 outbreak.

CONCLUSION
We need a creative perspective and an innovative outlook in order to
overcome any kind of challenges we have faced in our whole life.
This lecture outlines fundamental features of theories for innovative
and creative practices in various problem-solving contexts. After learning to adopt
some strategies for personal development, this lecture teaches us how to reframe our
background and methodology to deal with complex challenges.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. Explain how Thinking Actively in a Social Context (TASC) model
helps people to overcome their problems?
2. How does Creative Problem-Solving (CPS) model operate? Explain
each stage by giving examples.

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© İzmir Katip Çelebi University, Turkey

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Maria Luisa Sierra Huedo – Cayetano Fernández Romero –
Antonio Prieto-Andrés – Enrique Uldemolins Julve

TEACHING MODULE 6

Making Global and

Local Connections
MOTTO: “Asked where he came from, he said I am citizen of the
world.”
Diogenes of Sinope
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 LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF THE MODULE
The learning objectives of this module is that students will be able:
 to locate themselves in the new globalized world context and
they will be able to see their duties within their local
communities,
 to acknowledge what the meaning of being an active global citizen is,
 to prepare themselves to face the interconnected world challenges,
 to reflect on the process of globalization and to understand how such process
affects important issues in the world and society structures,
 to acquire knowledge about the current challenges for our societies which are:
population and migration; human rights in the 21st century; social justice, a
more equal world is needed and sustainability and the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG).

Introduction to the Sustainable development and globalization

In the 1960s, Martin Luther King expressed a reality which has become usual
nowadays. King said vividly “all life is interrelated. We are all caught into an
inescapable network of mutuality; tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever
affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the
interrelated structure of reality” (King, 2011, p. 70). He illustrated this deep
connection according to which the decisions made in a single place can influence
people living in a different place of the globe: “Did you ever stop to think that you
can’t leave for your job in the morning without being dependent upon most of the
world? You get up in the morning and go to the bathroom and reach over for the
sponge, and that’s handed to you by a Pacific Islander. You reach for a bar of soap,
and that’s given to you in the hands of a Frenchman. And then you go into the
kitchen to drink your morning coffee and that is poured into your cup by a South
American. And maybe you want tea: that’s poured into your cup by a Chinese. Or
maybe you’re desirous of having cocoa for breakfast, and that’s poured into your cup
by a West African. And then you have taste for toast, and that’s given you in the
hands of an English farmer, not to mention the baker. And before you finish eating

166
breakfast in the morning, you’ve depended on more than half the world. This is the
way how our universe is structured“ (King, 2011, pp. 70-71).
After more than 50 years, the interdependence is bigger: information technologies,
computers and telecommunications are modifying the material basis in every society;
economies are interdependent, stressing the dependence networks among countries;
a new relation between the economy, the State and the society has burst onto the
scene. In this new relation we would highlight the interrelation among companies,
the increasing weight of capital in comparison to labour, the individualization of
labour relations and the loss of influence of the trade unions, the massive
participation of women in the work force, though in subordinate conditions, the
selective deregulation and the lowering of the welfare state to confront the increasing
global economic competition to attract capital. Internationally, the so-called Third
World is not monolithic anymore, and some enclaves of the “global south” have
been integrated in the prosperous global economy. At the same time, the regions
that are left disconnected see their differences increase with more prosperous places.
This dynamic of inequality concerns also the populations and territories belonging to
the traditional “developed north” which have witnessed the emergence of some
enclaves of the so-called “Fourth World” within their borders (Castells, 1998).
Together with the economic and technological changes, the social changes related
with globalization have also been impressive. Probably the three most relevant are
the gender relations, the environmental awareness and the emerging perception of
a vague global citizenship. This global citizenship tries to forge its way despite the
growing delegitimization of political traditions and the competition of the sectorial
and local identities that give safety and meaning to millions of human beings whose
cultural expressions, institutions, organizations and traditional identities are
radically threaten by the increasing interdependence of the globalized world. Like
never before, people are feeling in their own existence the prophetic statement made
by King: “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” (King, 2011, p. 70).
The idea of a citizenship that goes beyond the nation-state is not completely new.
The novelty lies in the global context in which this concept is suggested. Together
with the deep and long-standing social changes which can be noticed (feminism,

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ecologism), there is also a context of international treaties and agreements, global
social movements, and an impulse to human rights that has relevant consequences
for global citizenship. This global citizenship is struggling between a complementary
perception of the traditional citizenship based on the nation-state and the alternative
view that suggests a wider and more ground-breaking notion defined around a more
cosmopolitan project less subject to the political limits of a single nation-state
(Nussbaum, 2012). In any case, throughout this line of discussion and regardless the
intensity conferred by each extreme, the common denominator of the debate
perceives the global citizenship as a sense of belonging to a larger community and a
common humankind. In practical terms, this idea highlights the political, economic,
social and cultural interdependence of people living in this world and the
interconnections between the local, the national and the global. International
migrations can be a good example of this process.
The increasing interdependence between societies has stimulated the interest in the
ideas related with the global citizenship and has additionally awaken a renewed
attention for an active global citizenship education. As expressed in different
international forums, global citizenship education has three key conceptual
dimensions, which have obtained broad consensuses (UNESCO, 2015a). These
conceptual dimensions are interrelated and concern the three learning contexts on
which they are based: cognitive, socioemotional and behavioural (see Table 1).

Table 1: Key conceptual dimensions of the global citizenship education

Cognitive: Acquisition of knowledge, understanding and critical thinking about
global issues and the interconnectedness/ interdependency of countries and
different populations
Socio-emotional: Sense of belonging to a common humankind, sharing values and
responsibilities, empathy, solidarity and respect for differences and diversity
Behavioural: Effective and responsible action in local, national and global contexts
for a more peaceful and sustainable world
Source: UNESCO (2015a)

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Global citizenship education aims to be a transforming factor, offering knowledge,
skills, values and attitudes that learners need to be able to contribute for a more
inclusive, fair and peaceful world. Global citizenship education appeals to
understand the world we live in with rationality and trusts the possibilities of social
action being able to drive transforming politics. Global citizenship education shares
the strategic objectives of the Education for All (EFA) promoted by UNESCO. In that
sense, it promotes a humanistic and holistic view of education as a fundamental
human right that is essential for the personal and socio-economic development. This
learning is understood as a process which has to be developed during life with the
objective of empowering people so they achieve their right to education, satisfy their
personal and professional expectations in a decent and healthy way, and contribute
to the fulfilment of their objectives regarding the socio-economic development of
their societies. “The contents of this learning should promote, among other things,
the understanding and respect of human rights, inclusion, equity, social justice and
cultural diversity, all of them essential components for peace, responsible citizenship
and sustainable development” (UNESCO, 2015b).

LECTURE 1: UNDERSTANDING CURRENT

GLOBALIZATION: CONNECTING GLOBAL AND LOCAL

INTRODUCTION
Globalization due to the high speed of technological development, as
well as the new communication system, is generating deep changes
and a new world structure that are indeed affecting different groups of
people and diverse environments that apparently are really far away, such as the
international versus the local one. The unifying worldwide process, that is implicit
with globalization, may produce reactions against it and a defense for the particular
and local spaces. Understanding these processes, how they work and how they affect
the work context, labor issues, health services, education, living conditions and

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housing as well as social mobility, among many other, are very important to focus
yourself in this new world context, what Janet Bennett (2009) calls the new personal
intercultural positioning system, used as a metaphor of the global positioning
system (GPS). This new GPS is indeed fundamental to make sense of all the actions,
either real ones or symbolic ones, within our societies and in a very special way in
higher education. Education in general and even more higher education should help
university students to develop the ability to know how to “move around” in local
contexts but always with the international perspective in mind. As Suárez-Orozco &
Sattin (2007) affirm the future professionals should be global citizens, following the
famous Dubos’ sentence “think globally, act locally”, or in another word: “glocal”.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Globalization is a process that has its origins during the 1990s. In 1995
Thomas Friedman in his book The World is Flat already stated that the
new world structure and reality is a “flat one”, everybody is
connected in a fluid freedom of fast communication, unthinkable only thirty years
ago. Much has been written already about globalization, some authors predicted a
much fairer world structure in where those living in third world countries will, like
driving on a high way, have first world living conditions. Sadly but truly, we just
replicated/reproduced the same world structure than before, thus we still have the
globalizers and the globalized in a super-fast changing world situations, in where it
is almost impossible to keep up with the pace (Suarez Orozco & Sattin, 2007).
All this is possible, thanks to the Internet and to a fast communication system that is
the key element in this globalization process. Instant and fast communication with
the help of technology are key to understand the process of globalization and
increasing and overwhelming access to knowledge that we have nowadays (Sierra-
Huedo, 2018). Friedman (2000) and Giddens (2009) agree in defining globalization as
the fact that we live in just one/unified world, meaning that people and states are
more interconnected than ever, and that we all depend much more on one another
than ever before. Therefore, the process of globalization might be defined as a new
international, interconnected system in where the economic capital, technology and

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information are integrated in such a way that they form one unique global market,
only one global village or community (Sierra-Huedo, 2015). According to Castells
(1998) globalization weakens the functions of nation states, due to the new global
market economy. How any state can react against its economy, crime, or
communication is diminished by globalization and how globalized social protests
occur (think as an example the case of Greta Thunberg and her climate action
movement), as well as global terrorism or even the global situation of the COVID-19
pandemic.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Think of fake news and how fast they spread is a result of
globalization and the use of the Internet. In this interconnected global
world with local problems/situations that become global such as
climate change and pollution; terrorism; health crisis and migrations, university
students need to be prepared to deal with this complexity, use critical thinking and
intercultural communication to be able to get a realistic analysis and approach
towards current issues and national problems (Sierra-Huedo, 2018). There are think
tanks created to fight fake news - check out this website for example
https://migracion.maldita.es.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Make a table in where you compare the use of the Internet world wide in
different regions such as Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle-East, North
America, South America and Australia. Source: Internet World Stats
https://www.internetworldstats.com Compare population and access.

CONCLUSION
The current challenges that the world faces are indeed
interconnected. This is the result of globalization. The economic
social and cultural sides of globalization can be perceived
everywhere. The markets are all interconnected, this a fact that was very obvious

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during the past crisis with the fall of Lehman Brothers and its worldwide
consequences. Communication is now more accessible than ever we can be informed
about what is going on in Ghana or Guatemala, increasing the consciousness of
events and news that take place far away. Thus events that are local at the beginning
they get global dimensions.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. Are you aware how our world is interconnected?
2. Do you know where the products that you consume come from and
who made them?

LECTURE 2: POPULATION & GLOBALIZATION

INTRODUCTION
This section does not aim to carry out an in-depth study of the history
of the population either an exhaustive path of its evolution.
Nevertheless, due to globalization and glocalization, we think that
presenting a series of reflections and challenges that people are facing is
fundamental. These situations concern everyone: some of them, in which our ability
to act is lower, are conditioned by external factors – legislative measures, wars,
epidemics, as the one we are experiencing with COVID-19, and, contrarily, others,
such as fertility and mortality, depend largely on the decisions and actions, life style
or behaviours and, of course, on the goals, priorities and scale of values pursued by
each one of us. As stated by Obaid (2009), “population matters because each person
counts” (p. 15). In the following pages, we present a series of characteristics, firstly,
of population, and secondly, of migrations which mean future challenges to human
development and aim to encourage the reader to know, judge and act.

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 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Livi-Bacci (2007) defines population as “a group of persons, stably
constituted, bound by reproductive links and identified by territorial,
politic, legal, ethnic and religious features” (p. 9). It is estimated that
the current world population is 7.7 billion people (United Nations, 2019a).
Nevertheless, this figure hides general trends, many times established by developed
countries, since it covers up big present and future differences that pose different
challenges to humankind (UNDP, 2019). We will try to address and classify these
trends according to the classical ways of conducting population studies identified by
Vergara and D’Entremont (1988):

 the analysis of natural population movements (how the persons and the
different communities are born, grow and die),
 the analysis of horizontal movements (how people are distributed and travel
around the territory),
 the analysis of vertical movements (how populations are structured) (p. 16).

Natural or growing movement

As stated by Vallín (1985), “In a population of living beings, inputs and outputs
depend essentially on two different vital processes: reproduction and degeneration.
It is life and death arithmetic” (p. 19). From this point of view, there are several
challenges in the last decades that should be highlighted.
The first one is: Although the projection of natural population growth is positive,
since it is expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050 and around 11 billion in 2100 (United
Nations, 2019a), the growth rate is very different depending on the countries and the
regions. In fact, while in some regions, such as the Sub-Saharan Africa, it will
experience strong growth, in others, like Europe or North America, this growth will
slow down or decrease.
The second one is: despite the fact that the global fertility rate is 2.4 children
(Population Reference Bureau, 2019), the continuous drop of fertility in the last

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decades is a constant in many countries, decreasing to 2.1 children. That means that
the generational replacement is not guaranteed.
But there are differences not only in the origin of life, but also when life is
languishing. Even if mortality has globally decreased, and although the average life
expectancy is at 72.6 years, life is on average 7 years shorter in the least developed
countries than in developed countries. This is due, among other factors, to the strong
impact of infant and maternal mortality, violence or conflicts (United Nations,
2019a).

Vertical movements: Structure of the population

Age is an element that determines the structure of the population. In that sense, the
average age of the world population tends to grow, although it is worth noting that
“Europe and Asia aging rapidly, while Africa is home to the World’s largest youth
population” (Population Reference Bureau, 2019). In this process, the cohort of the
people over age 65 should be mentioned, since it is estimated that one in six people
in the world will have this age or will be even older in 2050. That means 16 % of the
population, a percentage that will be larger in Europe and North America, reaching
25 %, one in four persons (UN, 2019b).
Together with the ageing of the population, gender inequality is another challenge
faced by human development. This inequality is one of the most rooted and impacts
half of the population (49.585%), according to the UNDP (2019a).

Horizontal Movements: Migrations

The third way to address the population study would be through the natural
movement of the population, that is, how people travel and where they are settled in
the territory. On that subject, migrations are anything but new, which is healthy to
remember. Migrations are discussed in the next section because of their relevance
and presence in the global political and social agendas.

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A world on the move: International migration
In this section, we would like to focus on international migrants, on the one hand,
and on forcibly displaced, who do not always cross an international border, on the
other hand. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) (2019),
it is estimated that there are currently around 272 million international migrants, a
very low percentage of the global population (3.5%). This human capital flow
provides several advantages both to the countries of origin and to the destination
countries (IOM, 2020). Nevertheless, migrations also awaken suspicions and fears,
as it is deduced from the more and more restrictive national legislations on that
subject.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
The main reason for migrating is economic. In fact, economic
migrations constitute 60 % of the total, according to the IOM (2018).
But there are also other reasons derived from the human rights
violations, such as conflicts and extreme poverty, or those originated from
environmental causes (IOM, 2013). Nevertheless, whatever the causes or reasons, the
country of origin, the scale or magnitude “Migration, whether internal or
international has always been one of the forces driving the growth of urbanization
and bringing opportunities and challenges to cities, migrants and governments”
(IOM, 2020b). Besides, this source points out that in 1950, 30% of the global
population was living in urban areas, and this percentage is expected to increase
from 55% in 2018 to 60% in 2030 (IOM, 2020b).
Furthermore, this continuous and growing traffic of people poses challenges both for
the countries of origin (because of the departure of working age people or people
who can have children, what may provoke imbalances in the labour market and the
structure of the population), and for the destination countries (where relevant
debates arise regarding investment on health and education, especially in those
countries with low and medium income, in which an important volume of migrants
is assembled). With the aim of managing and giving a sustainable answer to the

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migratory movements, the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
and the Global Compact on Refugees were approved in 2018.
Think about the main issues regarding population and migration in your own
country or geographical area, what are those that are mostly discussed?

TASK FOR STUDENTS

1. Define using your own words: Migration, Irregular migration,
Labour migration, Migrant, Refugee, Internally displaced, Right of
asylum, Family reunification. Once you have your definitions,
compare your answers with the ones from the International
Organization for Migration (2019).
2. Answer the following questions: How many refugees are currently in
the world? What are their main countries of origin? And the main
destination countries? Indicate the refugees’ countries of origin and
their destination countries in a map. What conclusion/s do you
reach?
3. Individual work: What is the Human Development Index? What does
it measure? What are the best positioned countries in this ranking?
And the worst? What is the position of your country? Are you
surprised about this position? Why? Comment the results with your
peers.
Answer to task 1: Glossary on Migration. Retrieved from
https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/iml_34_glossary.pdf
Answer to task 2: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Global trends. Force
displacement in 2018. Retrieved from
https://www.unhcr.org/statistics/unhcrstats/5d08d7ee7/unhcr-global-trends-2018.html
Answer to task 3: UNDP (2019.) Human development Report 2019. Beyond income, beyond
averages, beyond today: Inequalities in human development in the 21st century. Retrieved
from http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr_2019_overview_-_english.pdf

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 CONCLUSION
The different projections show a strong population growth in the
following decades. Still, we have to be cautious, since these are only
trends, that is, they are not definitive as they depend, among other
elements, on personal decisions (having more or less children, lifestyle), on politics
(wars) or health issues (diet, pandemics, etc.) which could modify them.
Their growth and their uncertainty pose a big challenge to the sustainable
development, keeping in mind that inequalities may be present from our birth, and
they may be amplified as time goes by, impacting on important issues of our life, and
increasing our vulnerability.
Besides, the demographic imbalances concerning fertility or ageing of the global
population will aggravate not only the labour force surplus in countries which have
a young population structure, but also the lack of labour force in developed
countries. It is quite a challenge and an opportunity regarding the sustainable
demographic, social and economic growth.
In short, the drop in fertility and birth rates, gradual ageing, and global population
movements will have relevant consequences on human development regarding
different aspects, such as access to education, health services, housing and work.
These are the challenges that should alert leaders and their policies. It will be
necessary to reformulate the elements that support the welfare state, such as the
working age or the taxes, together with politics that promote inclusion and social
cohesion.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What factors do you think are the most influencing regarding the
population growth?
Answer: UN (2019). Peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet.
Global issues. Population. Retrieved from
https://www.un.org/es/sections/issues-depth/population/index.html

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 LECTURE 3: ACTIVE GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

INTRODUCTION
Based on the ancient term of cosmopolitanism, term already used by
the Greek philosophers, global citizenship refers to citizens who live in
an interconnected world, and as such they have global rights and
duties. Citizens who are interculturally competent and are able to live and work with
a great diversity face global challenges that threat their existence and they affect all of
us in a much more interconnected thread that some times we can even imagine.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
The ancient term of cosmopolitanism came from Diogenes. He talks
about the oxymoron of the term, which implies cosmos which means
the world, the universe and politas which means the city, in this case
only the city of Athens (very local). The term presupposes that an individual has an
intention towards transcendence with respect to one’s culture and towards other’s
culture; a responsibility toward people based solely on the principal of their
humanity (human rights and sustainability); an open-minded attitude toward other
cultures. “The modern concept of cosmopolitanism and how you construct or
educate students to become Cosmopolitan it happens through a process, educating
for diversity and pluralism” (Held, 2010; Nussbaum, 2005).
The basic concept of global citizenship is an integration of education for
development, human rights education, environmental education, peace education,
intercultural education and gender education. It is indeed one holistic education
that will contain and deal with this very narrow relationship among all those
educations mentioned above. As it has been exposed above, we live an
interconnected world in where there is an every day increasing connection among all
human-beings, no matter in which part of the world they might live in, ALL with the
same rights and living in a world that is fighting for its sustainability (Boni & Pérez-
Foguet, 2006).

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According to Sierra-Huedo (2015) global citizenship is an orientation that
universalizes the classic concept of citizenship, which obviously has certain rights
and duties within a nation-state. The main question here is what happens when
these created „nation-states“ borders are not as they used to be? When we live in a
state that it is the whole world, and the world that is indeed “flat”? What happens is,
that the intellectual context in where a global citizen lives and his/her sense of
connection and belonging expands to the whole humanity. Thus, global citizenship
is not only a mental static state, but a dynamic world vision within a feeling of
responsibility towards topics such as: social and economic justice at a multilevel:
local, national and international (Sierra-Huedo, 2015). Global citizenship could be
defined as the ability of seeing oneself and the world that surrounds you, to be able
to compare and contrast, the ability to see plurality and diversity as a result, and to
have the ability to balance acknowledging our own reality with the other’s realities.
There is no doubt that in order to be able to compare other people’s realities, we need
to first know the diversity that is around us and to develop critical thinking
(McIntosh, 2005; Sierra-Huedo, 2015). The main common themes that a definition of
global citizenship groups are: understanding our closest and local milieu and
connecting it with the global context. Dr. Banks explains global citizenship as
knowledge, attitude, and skills required to function within and beyond any cultural
communities and borders (Globalization 101, 2020). Therefore students need to
understand how their own closest reality influences and affects other nations, as well
as the impact that international events have on their daily lives. A global citizen is
someone who cares and knows on what is going on in the world developing
empathy towards the multicultural other (Nussbaum, 2005).

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
With the help of the following table, students can prepare guidelines
how abilities and characteristics can be can be acquired.

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 Table 2: Global citizen’s skills
Abilities & Characteristics
To be able to make personal election and find own way of thinking

To be conscious that we all are cultural beings and therefore others are as well
cultural beings
To be conscious of one self , our role in our communities and/or societies and the
roles of other’s in their societies and communities
To be capable to ractice cultural empathy

To cultivate responsibility in decision making processes

To participate in an active way in political and social community life in where one
lives
Source: Sierra-Huedo, 2015

TASK FOR STUDENTS

During one/two weeks you would have to check where all the clothes that
you wear are made. Once you have that list, look into the labor conditions
in those countries and reflect about how your purchases have a positive or
negative impact in those people’s lives.

CONCLUSION
We live in a world of overlapping communities deeply embedded
with each other. The current challenges that we have right now,
require that we educate engaged and compromised citizens, who are
socially responsible. This is why it is crucial that we educate our students to become
ethical, active global citizens. Through education our students will be able to start
being aware of their reality within their closer community. (Sierra-Huedo, 2015).

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
Green & Whitshed (2015) as well as Sierra-Huedo (2013) make a list of
learning outcomes and teaching elements that could be introduced in a
curriculum or university course that may encourage educating global
citizens and they will help internationalized the curriculum. Reflect about
how many of these elements are present in your courses:
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 Table 3: Learning outcomes & teaching elements
Green & Whitshed (2015) Sierra-Huedo (2013)
Comprehending the global nature of Infusing courses with international
economic, political & cultural issues content
Showing interculturally inclusive behaviour Using comparative approaches in
research projects & teaching
Understanding the process of change Interdisciplinary studies & mixing
students with interdisciplinary
backgrounds
Engaging critically with global knowledge Studies focused on civilizational
approaches
Realizing that knowledge is constructed Intercultural studies
differently in diverse cultures
Awareness of one’s own cultures and International & development
perspectives studies
Being able to identify ethical issues in their Important role of other languages
local context as well as in international or
intercultural contexts
Value linguistic and cultural diversity and Internationalization of professional
seeing it as a richness not as a problem schools and pre-professional ones
Applying critical thinking to problems with Faculty & staff development in
an international/intercultural dimension international area
Thinking and reflecting critically about Involvement of students and faculty
one’s own cultural identity and its social in internships with an international
construction perspective (abroad or local)
Recognising diverse and cultural International institutional linkages
perspectives on the same issues and networking
Working on developing global imagination Involvement of students
Source: Sierra-Huedo

LECTURE 4: HUMAN RIGHTS

INTRODUCTION
Every person has some rights that should be recognized by society and
by positive law (the applicable law in a particular society). The person
came prior to the State. He/she has some needs and natural abilities
that must be used to get the full development of his/her potentialities and allow
his/her development as a human being with full respect for his/her human dignity.
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All human beings, due to these needs and natural abilities, have some rights that
authorise them to request others their respect and to demand the State to recognise
and guarantee the achievement of the needed values for the progress and the full
development of the human being.
According to Pérez Luño (as cited in De Castro, 2003, p. 124), human rights can be
defined as: “A group of faculties and institutions that, in each particular historical
moment, define the requirements for the human dignity, freedom and equity, which
should be positively recognised by national and international legal systems”.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
The imperative wish of freedom opposite to the absolute power of the
monarchy and the nobility did not leave a mark on the European
society until the 18th century. This wish came true in the alliance
between the common people and the bourgeoisie to fulfil their objectives of freedom.
This alliance crystallised in the liberal revolutions whose fundamental ideology was
afterwards replicated in the subsequent bills of rights and constitutions. At this
point the human rights were fundamentally the expression of an aspiration to obtain
formal freedom. Nevertheless, far from promoting the desired emancipation of the
human being, they kept the pre-existing social and economic differences among
people, since the starting situation was not modified by mechanisms which allowed
equal opportunities. There was in that moment the first contradiction between the
concept of human rights, universal by definition, that is, equal to all human beings,
and their real and effective attribution, which was limited to citizenship, being
initially citizenships a reduced number of persons, who were men with the
nationality of the State, owners, or people who fulfil the requirements, especially
economical (Prieto-Andrés, 2015).
In the liberal state, workers were in a situation of vulnerability, providing workforce
in subhuman conditions that barely guaranteed their own personal survival, which
caused a gradual feeling of discontent regarding the prevailing politics in the first
half of the 19th century. The idea of needing social rights was gradually forged and

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included in the constitutional texts from the mid-19th century to well into the 20th
century.
Another important aspect to keep in mind is that, during the second half of the 19th
century and the first half of the 20th century, individuals reached an identification
with their nation like never in history. The tension between the universalism of the
rights and the particularism of belonging to a nation-state is destined to be totally
solved in favour of the last. Already in the 20th century, the European nation-states
perceived their internal diversity more as a problem to face than as an enriching
element. This was reflected in the international peace treaties signed after World War
I which tried to obtain homogeneous states from the ethnic and cultural point of
view.
Nevertheless, the hypernationalist trend that prevailed in that period ended with
the triumph of the fascisms, whose main representatives, as we know, were
Germany, Italy and Japan. With them, individuals lost their relevance and remained
totally subordinated to the nation-state.
During World War II there was a relevant ideological reaction which reinforced
human dignity and the inviolability of human rights. People were convinced that
implementing political regimes for protecting human rights was necessary for living
in peace. The tragic experience of totalitarianism highlighted the need to give
prominence to the absolute and pre-state character of the rights. For that reason, the
criteria for giving rights could not be left only to the nation-state. In contrast, the
direct relation between rights and the person become the basis and the legitimization
criteria of the new constitutional states.
This requirement was initially fulfilled in the United Nations General Assembly,
which promulgated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations
General Assembly, 1948). The difficulties to approve this kind of document in this
historical moment were mainly derived from the ideological and political conflict
between the socialist block, led by the Soviet Union, and the capitalist block of the
United States and its western allies. For the Soviet Union, economic, social and
cultural rights were those which should be respected, while disparaging civil and
political rights. Besides, the state sovereignty was very important for the socialist

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block, so human rights should be dealt within the context of the states. Contrarily,
the western block especially defended civil and political rights and was in favour of
protecting human rights outside the internal jurisdiction of the states. Consequently,
the resulting Declaration constituted a balance, a consensus among the western
liberal and the Marxist approaches.
Nevertheless, the Declaration needed a more precise international legal regulation
which was expressed in two international treaties, the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) and the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (1966), to which other subsequent tools concerning particular
communities (women, children, genocide victims, etc.) were added.
Human rights are usually classified in several generations, considering the historical
evolution previously mentioned. Thus, the rights related with the liberal concept of
the negative liberty, together with the principle of equality before the law, that is, the
individual civil rights (such as freedom, right to life, to property and to safety) were
included in the first generation (Bailón, 2009). The political rights, that is, rights to
participate or to take collective action (such as the right to vote, freedom of press or
freedom of assembly) were included in the second generation, which frequently is
merged with the first. And the universal suffrage was gradually broadened (firstly,
to men, and then, to women) throughout the 20th century.
Since the workforce was more and more focused on industrial activity, causing
insalubrity, diseases, deaths and terrible working conditions for many workers,
another group of rights surged in the third generation. These were the social,
economic and cultural rights whose main display was the so-called Social Welfare
State.
In the last decades, new demands regarding the right to development, to self-
determination, to peace, to a healthy environment, to technological freedom, and to
identity surged in the social segments of several countries. These rights are called
solidarity rights or collective rights. This fourth generation of rights is the result of
the new demands expressed by the citizens, on the one hand, and of the new
scientific knowledge and its implementation to different spheres of human life, on
the other hand.

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The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training defines
“human rights education as comprising all educational, training, information,
awareness-raising and learning activities aimed at promoting universal respect for
and observance of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and thus contributing
to, inter alia, the prevention of human rights violations and abuses by providing
persons with knowledge, skills and understanding and developing their attitudes
and behaviors, to empower them to contribute to the building and promotion of a
universal culture of human rights” (United Nations General Assembly, 2011).
According to the Council of Europe (n.d.):
Human rights education – learning about, through and for human rights – is
therefore essential in preventing human rights violations and in making democracy a
sustainable way of life. This is especially relevant to children and young people.
Human rights education is in itself a right, enshrined in Article 26 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. The Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship
and Human Rights Education adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2010 calls
upon the member states to provide every person within their territory with the
opportunity of education for democratic citizenship and human rights education, by
all means of education, including non-formal education. It also recognises the
irreplaceable role of non-governmental organisations and youth organisations in this
process.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Check some of the following webpages to see some examples and
educational units created for practicing in class.
Resources for teachers:
Council of Europe (n.d). Compass: Manual for Human Rights Education with Young
people. Retrieved from the Council of Europe web site:
https://www.coe.int/en/web/compass
EQUITAS (n.d.). Equitas Tools for Education Website. Retrieved from the Equitas
web site: https://equitas.org/tools-for-education/find-a-tool/

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Kingston, Lindsey N. (Ed.) (2018). Human Rights in Higher Education. London:
Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-319-91421-3
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (United Nations Human Rights)
(n.d.). Training and Education Materials. Retrieved from the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights web site:
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/PublicationsResources/Pages/TrainingEducation.aspx
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). (2009).
Human Rights Education in the School Systems of Europe, Central Asia and North
America: A Compendium of Good Practice. Warsaw: OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights. ISBN 978-92-9234-765-9. Retrieved from the Office
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights web site:
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/CompendiumHRE.pdf
United for Human Rights (s.d.). Retrieved from the United for Human Rights web
site: https://www.humanrights.com/
University of Connecticut (n.d.). Teaching Human Rights. University of Connecticut
(USA). Retrieved from the University of Connecticut web site:
https://teachinghumanrights.uconn.edu/browse-all-syllabi/
University of Minnesota (n.d.) Human Rights Resource Center website. Retrieved
from the University of Minnesota web site:
http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/edumat/activities.shtm

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Please discuss in pairs if a racism means a violation of human rights?
Why?

CONCLUSION
Human Rights Educators USA. (n.d.) consider that human rights
education helps develop communication skills and critical thinking,
which are essential for democracy. It provides multicultural and
historical perspectives in favour of justice and dignity. Additionally, human rights
education involves the heart as well as the mind. It challenges students to wonder

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what the human rights mean and promotes informed, nonviolent action. It also
promotes the understanding of the complex global forces that commit abuse, and
how these forces can be abolished or avoided.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. How could you promote human rights in the subject you teach?
2. Please explain what “Human Rights Education” means.
3. Please give some examples of countries or political systems, where the
economic, social and cultural rights were not respected.

LECTURE 5: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND

CLIMATE CHANGE

INTRODUCTION
The term „sustainability” (as well as other concepts associated with
this idea, such as sustainable development) was internationally
established in the 90s, after the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development that took place in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
The main idea that lies beneath the notion of “ustainability is that a society should
not spend more natural resources than those that are renewed, so the following
generations have a similar quantity of resources.” Therefore, the ability of the
ecosystem to duplicate depends on the limits within which a particular society
decides to develop its activities and economy. Some years before the Rio Summit, in
1987, an influencing report called Our Common Future (CMMAD, 1989) that was
expressing the same ideas, had been published. The also called Brundtland Report
suggested a definition of sustainability that has become one of the most quoted and
discussed. The report links sustainability and development and defines “sustainable
development” as the development that “meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Afterwards, the authors of the report explain that sustainable development, under

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this definition, contains two fundamental concepts: on the one hand, the concept of
“needs”, the essential needs of the poor, to which overriding priority should be
given; and, on the other hand, the idea of limitations imposed on the environment's
ability to meet present and future needs. This definition of sustainability redirects the
mainly environmental perspective, which had been the dominant point of view until
then, towards a more complex approach in which the sustainability of a society
depends on guaranteeing not only the appropriate condition of the ecosystem, but
also on the proper working of its economic and social dimensions. The pillars of the
sustainability are these three elements: the environmental, the economic and the
social one. And the sustainable development depends on the dynamic balance
between them. The economic dimension gives the society the production of wealth
and the output of goods and services that guarantee the material welfare; the social
dimension safeguards the equity in the distribution of opportunities and resources
and promotes the inclusion of all the members of the society: the environmental
dimension guarantees that the society’s actions, that is, the way in which the socially
defined needs are satisfied, is compatible with the natural integrity of its ecosystems
(Uldemolins, 2015).

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
There are two dimensions in the idea of sustainable development that
should be distinguished to avoid, as much as possible, the
misunderstandings that this term may provoke. On the one hand, the
sustainable development implies a way of understanding the world in which the
interaction between the economic, social, environmental and political elements are
key. In this sense, sustainable development can be compared to a map or a guide that
allows us to understand, to a certain extent, the complex reality of interactions with
which we get along. But, on the other hand, the notion of sustainable development
involves a regulating vision of the world. This way of understanding the sustainable
development is dominated by the ethical impulse that defines the desired society.
Accordingly, a sustainable society would be the one where its current and future
citizens’ welfare would be guaranteed. There would not be social groups or

188
marginalised people; it would be environmentally sustainable (it would not use
more resources than those that could be renewed) and would have a reasonably
good governing. If reaching this sustainability model is desired, the way of
understanding sustainable development entails a series of key issues that should be
faced: extreme poverty, inequality, social mobility, discrimination (gender, ethnic,
religious, etc.), social cohesion, natural environment and governance.
Consequently, sustainable development presents a program of collective
transformation that eradicates extreme poverty, reduces inequalities between the
poor and the rich, ensures social mobility guaranteeing equal opportunities,
eliminates all forms of discrimination, promotes trust, solidarity and inclusion
among people, guarantees a good management of natural resources (water,
biodiversity, atmosphere) and restores trust of governments and public institutions
(Sachs, 2015).
Therefore, facing the sustainability challenge means deeply changing the social and
economic values on which our current society is unconsciously based. But it should
also oblige us to review the ethical principles which rule the behaviour of western
civilization that is excessively founded in an anthropocentric perspective.
Sustainability requires a change in the way we see our relations with the nature-
system, the life-system and the earth-system. Human beings participate in relations
network that links all living things in our planet. If I contaminate or waste energy,
there will be an impact on my health and on both my future comfort possibilities and
those of my neighbours, even if they live outside my territory. Sustainable
development implies protecting the vitality and the integrity of ecosystems and, at
the same time, being responsible (able to answer, to offer solutions) for ethical
imperatives regarding the poor, the needy and vulnerable people.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) point to that direction, as hereunder
explained. On September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN, 2015). Within this new world
framework, the idea of sustainable development was marked as the focus of the
collective action by the international community. The 2030 Agenda contains 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This extraordinary program of

189
transformation towards a sustainable path was defined after the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) that took place in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, in June 2012. It was a three-year process which involved all the Member States
of the United Nations. During this process, thousands of different social
organizations and governmental agencies participated in national studies.
Additionally, it is important to remark that the SDGs followed the path started by
the United Nations with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which
constituted the development agenda of the international community until 2015. In
that sense, the SDGs, although giving continuity to the performance started by the
United Nations with the new millennium, presents also important novelties both in
their aims and their approach. In particular, the SDGs and their 169 targets
significantly broaden the topics addressed. While the MDGs were very focused on
social aspects, the SDGs broaden their scope to address economic, environmental
and governing issues. The main difference presented by the SDG is their universal
aspiration; they focus on global challenges that concern humankind. The SDGs are
conceived as global goals in which all the States and societies should be involved,
independently of their relative development level, nationally and internationally.
The traditional distinction between developed and poor countries loses the relevance
it had had for the practical implementation of the MDGs. Now what matters is the
contribution made by each country to reach the common goals. The SDGs are
universal, transforming and inclusive; they describe the main challenges that the
States and their societies should face in the following years until 2030.
The aim of the 17 SDGs (see https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/) is
guaranteeing a sustainable, peaceful, prosperous and fair life for everyone, now and
in the future. The goals address global challenges which are crucial for humankind’s
survival; they fix the environmental limits and the critical thresholds for the use of
natural resources; and they recognise that poverty eradication should encompass
economic development. They also refer to a series of social needs, including
education, health, social protection and work opportunities and, at the same time,
suggest methods to alleviate and adapt to the climatic change and protect the
environment. The SDGs keep in mind and suggest methods to finish with the so-

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called systemic barriers to the sustainable development, such as the inequality, the
unsustainable consumer patterns, the weak institutional power and the degradation
of the environment.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Sustainable development & Sustainable Development Goals. Resources
for teachers:
BookWidgets: https://www.bookwidgets.com/blog/2019/12/10-
ready-to-use-lesson-plans-on-the-sustainable-development-goals
World largest lesson: https://worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org/es/who-we-are/
https://worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org/es/global-goals/no-poverty/
Be the change: https://bethechangetakethechallenge.wordpress.com/
Teach SDG’s: http://www.teachsdgs.org/
Education for Sustainable Development Goals: learning objectives:
https://en.unesco.org/themes/education/sdgs/material

Picture 1: Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals

Source: www.researchgate.net

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 TASK FOR STUDENTS
Think, in which countries the major population growth will mostly
happen in the very close future. Explain why.
Explain how they propose to achieve their targets.
Choose one SDG (for example, SDG 4: Quality education or SDG 5:
Gender equality). Discuss with the learners how the selected SDG is
related to other SDGs.
Study SDGs from a local perspective. Review the SDGs and select the
one/s that the participants consider impact in a more urgent way on the
community or place where they live. Explain why this/these SDGs is/are
especially relevant for your community. Identify potential action
guidelines to achieve one of the targets associated with that goal. Think
about how personal actions (what can I do?) and collective actions (what
can be done by our community?) can be related. What should other agents
(companies, local government, university, trade unions, etc.) do to achieve
the selected goal?
Answer: UN, 2019. 10 Key Findings, Retrieved from
https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2019_10KeyFindings.pdf

CONCLUSSION
The SDGs offer a series of guidelines and a framework for our
behaviours and actions in order to think and make the world a better
place. The 17 SDGs deal with a great variety of topics and many
issues that could be addressed locally, nationally or globally. Ending poverty in all
its forms everywhere (SDG 1), ending hunger, achieving food security and improved
nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture (SDG 2), reducing inequality
within and among countries (SDG 10), or taking urgent action to combat climate
change and its impacts (SDG 13) are all issues that can be addressed locally,
nationally and globally. All the SDGs are interrelated and work together: it is very
difficult to achieve one of them individually, without the support of the other ones.
Apart from being universal and interconnected, the SDGs are inclusive. They come

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with the promise of “leaving none behind”, that is, a single goal will not be achieved
if all the goals are not fulfilled (OXFAM, 2019).

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. When and where was the concept of the sustainable development
formulated?
2. Please name at least five goals of the Sustainable Development.
3. What do you personaly do contribute to sustainable development?
Please name at least five examles.

LECTURE 6: CASE STUDY

Anna was a political science major at a large state university in the Midwest. Upon
graduation she went into business, getting a promising job with a large firm. After
twelve years she had risen to a middle-management position. One day, her firm
assigned her to the newly opened Beijing office. What did she need to know, and
how well did her education prepare her for success in her new role? In a middle-
management position, Anna is (working with both Chinese and American
employees, both male and female. She needs to know how Chinese people think
about work (and not to assume there is just one way. When she started working in
China she realized that there were things at work that she did not agree with. It was
hard for her to make friends and to establish any kind of connection with male
coworkers at her firm. In other words, she was not feeling herself and she even
thought of quitting her job and returning back home to the USA. She needs to know
how cooperative networks are formed, and what misunderstandings might arise in
interactions between Chinese and American workers. Knowledge of recent Chinese
history is important, since the disruptions of the Cultural Revolution still shape
workers' altitudes. Anna also needs to consider her response to the recent policy of
urging women to return to the home, and to associate practices of laying off women

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first. This means she should know something about Chinese gender relations, both in
the Confucian tradition and more recently. She should probably know something
about academic women's studies in the United States, which have influenced the
women's studies movement in rights, and about to what extent it is either legitimate
or wise to criticize another nation's ways of life. In the future, Anna may find herself
dealing with problems of anti-African racism, and with recent government attempts
to exclude immigrants who test positive for the human immunodeficiency virus.
Doing this well will require her to know something about the history of Chinese
altitudes about race and sexuality. It will also mean being able to keep her moral
bearings even when she knows that the society around her will not accept her view.
The real-life Anna had only a small part of this preparation—some courses in world
history, but none that dealt with the general issue of cultural variety and how to
justify moral judgments in a context of diversity; none that dealt with the variety of
understandings of gender roles or family structures; none that dealt with sexual
diversity and its relationship to human rights. More important, she had no courses
that prepared her for the shock of discovering that other places treated as natural
what she found strange, and as strange what she found natural. Her imaginative
capacity to enter into the lives of people of other nations had been blunted by lack of
practice. The real-life Anna had a rough time getting settled in China, and the firm's
dealings with its new context were not always very successful. As a persistent and
curious person, however, she stayed on and has made herself a good interpreter of
cultural difference. She now plans to spend her life in Beijing, and she feels that she
brings a valuable contribution to the firm.
Two years ago, after several years in China, already in her late thirties, Anna decided
to adopt a baby. Through her by then extensive knowledge of the Chinese
bureaucracy, she bypassed a number of obstacles and quickly found an infant girl in
an orphanage in Beijing. She then faced challenges of a very different kind. Even in
the most apparently universal activities of daily life, cultural difference colors her
day. Her Chinese nurse follows the common Chinese practice of wrapping the baby’s
limbs in swaddling bands to immobilize it. As is customary, the nurse interacts little
with the child, either facially or vocally, and brings the child immediately anything it

194
appears to want, without encouraging its own efforts. Anna's instincts are entirely
different: she smiles at the baby, encourages her to wave her hands about, talks to
her constantly, wants her to act for herself. The nurse thinks Anna is encouraging
nervous tension by this hyperactive American behavior; Anna thinks the nurse is
stunting the baby's cognitive development. Anna's by now a sensitive cross-cultural
interpreter, is able to negotiate between mother and nurse and devise some plan for
the baby’s development that is agreeable to all. To do this she has had to think hard
about the non- universality and non naturalness of such small matters as playing
with a baby. But she has also had to think of the common needs and aims that link
her with the nurse, and the nurse with her own mother. Her university education
gave her no preparation at all for these challenges. Asked where he carne from, the
ancient Greek Cynic philosopher Diogenes replied, "I am a citizen of the world." He
meant by this that he refused to: be defined simply by his local origins and group
memberships, associations central to the self-image of a conventional Greek male; he
insisted on defining himself in terms of more universal aspirations and concerns. The
Stoics who followed his lead developed his image of the kosmopolités, or world
citizen, more fully, arguing that each of us dwells, in effect, in two com-munities—
the local community of our birth, and the community of human argument and
aspiration that "is truly great and truly common." It is the latter community that is,
most fundamentally, the source of our moral and social obligations. With respect to
fundamental moral values such as justice, we should regard all human beings as our
fellow citizens and local residents. This attitude deeply influenced the subsequent
philosophical and political tradition, especially as mediated through the writings of
Cicero; who reworked it so as to allow a special degree of loyalty to one's own local
region or group. Stoic ideas influenced the American republic through the writings
of Thomas Paine, and also through Adam Smith and Immanuel a major formative
influence on both Emerson and Thoreau. This form of cosmopolitanism is not
peculiar to Western traditions. It is, for example, the view that animates the work of
the influential Indian philosopher, poet, and educational leader Rabindranath
Tagore. Tagore drew [his own cosmopolitan views from older Bengali traditions,
although he self-consciously melded them with Western cosmopolitanism. It is also

195
the view recommended by Ghanaian philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah, when he
writes, concerning African identity: "We will only solve our problems if we see them as
human problems arising out of a special situation, and we shall not solve them if we see them
as African problems generated by our being somehow unlike others." But for people who
have grown up in the Western tradition it is useful to understand the roots of this
cosmopolitanism in ancient Greek and Roman thought. These ideas are an essential
resource for a democratic citizenship. Like Socrates' ideal of critical inquiry, they
should be at the core of today's higher education (Nussbaum, 2015).

TASK FOR STUDENTS

1. Explain the cultural patterns and models of the two parties involved.
2. Analyse the societies of the two parties involved from a historical and
demographical point of view following the analysis structure that it is
shown in the study of a society from its historical characteristics to its
demographic reality.

USA CHINESE
CULTURE CULTURE
Politics
CULTURAL Family
FOUNDATIONS Economy
Education
Natural
Movement
DEMOGRAPHIC
Vertical
REALITIES Movement
Horizontal
Movement

A) Explain Anna’s vision of human rights taking into account universalism vs particularism
B) Describe what kind of education and/or training Anna should have had to face successfully
her working experiences in China.
C) And finally, answer to the following question: What does it mean for you to be a global
citizen?

196
 CONCLUSION
The main question at this point will be: How do we approach current
world challenges? What is our responsibility towards our planet, our
common home? There is no doubt that our responsibilities are not
limited to our local and nation-state contexts, not any more, because we are
interconnected and everything we do has an impact in the whole world. Acquiring
such perspective requires very specific learning and education. Being able to connect
global issues with local ones is key to become an active global citizen, with
responsibilities and duties that we may acknowledge through critical thinking and
developing intercultural competences. In this chapter we have approached global
issues that are key in understanding our complex global context and thus should be
part of our basic knowledge in order to become global citizens. As started this
chapter with Dr. King’s reflection, we will finish with him as well, Martin Luther
King affirmed, “We must learn to live together as brothers (and sisters, this is mine)
or perish together as fools”.

LITERATURE
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Civiles y Políticos [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]. Retrieved
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Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas. (1966). Pacto Internacional de Derechos
Económicos, Sociales y Culturales [International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights]. Retrieved from: http://www2.ohchr.org/spanish/law/cescr.htm
Bailón, M. J. (2009). Derechos humanos, generaciones de derechos, derechos de minorías y
derechos de los pueblos indígenas; algunas consideraciones generales [Human Rights, Rights
Generations, Rights of Minorities, and Rights of Indigenous People; some General
Considerations].
Bennett, J. (2009). Cultivating Intercultural Competence: A Process Perspective. In D.
Deardorff (Ed.) The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence (pp.121-140).
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Boni, A., & Pérez, F. (2006). Construir la ciudadanía Global desde la Universidad:
propuestas pedagógicas para la introducción de la educación para el desarrollo en las
enseñanzas científico-técnicas [Building Global Citizenship from University:
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Friedman, T. (2000). The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization. New
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Friedman, T. (2005). The World is Flat. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux.
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Green, W., & Whitsed, C. (2015). Critical Perspectives on Internationalising the
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Guiddens, A. (2009). Sociología [Sociology]. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.
Held, D. (2010). Cosmopolitanism: Ideals and Realities.
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International Organization for Migration. (2013). World Migration Report. Migrant,
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King, M. L. (2011). The Trumpet of Conscience. Boston, MA: Beacon Press (1st Ed. 1968).
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McIntosh, P. (2005). Gender Perspectives on Educating for Global Citizenship. In N.
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Naciones Unidas (2015). Transformar nuestro mundo: la Agenda 2030 para el desarrollo
sostenible. A/RES/70/1. Asamblea General. Resolución de 25 de septiembre de 2015
[Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
A/RES/70/1. General Assembly. Resolution adopted on 25 September 2015]. New
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Nussbaum, M. C. (2005). El Cultivo de la Humanidad: una defensa clásica de la reforma en
la educación liberal [The Cultivation of Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reformation
in Liberal Education]. Barcelona: Espasa.
Nussbaum, M. C. (2012). Los límites del patriotismo. Identidad, pertenencia y “ciudadanía
mundial” [The Limits of Patriotism. Identity, belonging, and “World Citizenship”].
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Barcelona, España: Icaria.
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intercultural, clave en tiempos convulsos [Knocking Down Walls, Building Bridges: the
Intercultural Competence, Key in Troubled Times]. Zaragoza: Universidad San Jorge
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una ciudadanía global [Cultural Patterns and Contemporary Society. Notes for a Global
Citizenship]. Zaragoza: Ed. Universidad San Jorge.
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© Universidad San Jorge, Spain

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 Pencho Mihnev – Eliza Stefanova – Nikolina Nikolova –
Albena Antonova

TEACHING MODULE 7

Using Technology as
a Tool for Learning
MOTTO: “The real power of interactive technologies is that they let us
learn in ways that aren’t otherwise possible or practical.”
David Lassner

201
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC
The module ‘Using technology as a tool for learning’ introduce the
students in the concept of digital learning. It is oriented particularly to
the competence-based learning, going through the main steps of its implementation:
fining / development of the competence framework and an individual learning plan,
using digital tools for their representation / tracking and implementation.
In this module they are presented different tools, supporting the whole process –
very specialized as well as tools for general use, which could be easily adapted for
learning. Some of the tools are used usually by trainers to design the process but
understanding of their purpose and how they are used in the design of digital
learning environment provide learners with background and abilities to use them for
more efficient and effective learning. The other tools are suitable for design, tracking
and evaluating results of self-learning process.

LECTURE 1: COMPETENCES BASED LEARNING

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, the learners will:
 understand the meaning of the ‘competency-based learning’,
 value the importance of learning goals,
 identify their own learning needs and capacities on the base of professional
competence profiles,
 choose individual learning strategies.

INTRODUCTION
There are different points of view on what competency-based learning
actually means, and how it should ideally be used or function. It is

202
traditionally thought of in terms of skills and vocation, but CBL can be entirely
“academic” as well.
In this module we will understand competency-based learning as a type of education
that creates competencies needed for improved productivity and focuses on
outcomes as well as the learners' real-world performance. We will keep also its main
characteristic – focus on mastery. The method ensures visibility and recognition of
the result – knowledge, skills, and attitudes; immediately as they have been
achieved and while the learner continue learning.
The competency-based learning provides opportunities for flexibility, as learners are
able to move at their own pace. The method adds level of personalisation, supporting
students with diverse knowledge backgrounds, literacy levels, and other related
aptitudes. This also the challenge to the educators and learners, because the success
of the methods implementation depends on the correct identification and agreement
upon the most important competencies, how to best assess them, and how to support
learners.
In this chapter we will be familiarized with the concept of ‘competence’ and the
importance of the competence frameworks for further learning process.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1. Competences based learning/instruction
For the purpose of this module we will use the definitions of
“knowledge”, “skills”, “competence”, and other, as stipulated in
“Definitions”, of the Council Recommendation of 22 May 2017 on the European
Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning of the Council of the European
Union, 2017.
The Council (Council of the European Union, 2017, p. 20) stipulates that

 KNOWLEDGE means the outcome of the assimilation of information through

learning. Knowledge is the body of facts, principles, theories and practices

203
 that is related to a field of work or study. In the context of the EQF 1,
knowledge is described as theoretical and/or factual;
 SKILLS mean the ability to apply knowledge and use know-how to complete
tasks and solve problems. In the context of the EQF, skills are described as
cognitive (involving the use of logical, intuitive and creative thinking) or
practical (involving manual dexterity and the use of methods, materials, tools
and instruments);
 RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTONOMY means the ability of the learner to
apply knowledge and skills autonomously and with responsibility;
 COMPETENCE means the proven ability to use knowledge, skills and
personal, social and/or methodological abilities, in work or study situations
and in professional and personal development;
 LEARNING OUTCOMES means statements regarding what a learner knows,
understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process, which are
defined in terms of knowledge, skills and responsibility and autonomy;
 QUALIFICATION means a formal outcome of an assessment and validation
process which is obtained when a competent authority determines that an
individual has achieved learning outcomes to given standards.

2. The European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning (EQF)

The reason for including here a text about the European Qualifications Framework
for lifelong learning (EQF) is that the EQF is an overarching educational construction
for EU that with its construction (a table with eight levels of achievements and three
types of achievements – knowledge, skills and competences), not only makes
compatible all levels of education in all the EU educational systems, but also is used
as a common cohesion structure and framework when describing in detail the
different levels and descriptors of any of the 21st century competences, developed in
the respective EU documents and publications. The Commission, with the support of
an EQF Expert Group, proposed an 8-level framework based on learning outcomes

1
EQF - European Qualification Framework

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aiming to facilitate the transparency and portability of qualifications and to support
lifelong learning (European Commission, 2008).
A key point in the EQF is that the eight reference levels of the Framework are
described in terms of learning outcomes, thus assuring the opportunity to make
possible the comparisons between the educational systems of the EU countries,
which otherwise are quite different and diverse (e.g. at least by the duration of study
of one and the same educational levels).
Each learning outcome in the EQF (Table 1) is defined “as a statement of what a
learner knows, understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process”.
The EQF therefore emphasises the results of learning rather than focusing on inputs
such as length of study. Learning outcomes are specified in three categories – as
knowledge, skills and competence (ibid., p. 3). The competence in the EQF was
named broadly as “Responsibility and autonomy” but each EU country is able to
make this category more specific or manifold, depending on its own educational
system’s peculiarities and strategies.

Table 1: EQF excerpt - description for the Higher Education levels

Knowledge Skills Responsibility and
autonomy
In the context of EQF, In the context of EQF, In the context of the EQF
knowledge is skills are described as responsibility and
described as cognitive (involving the autonomy is described as
theoretical and/or use of logical, intuitive the ability of the learner to
factual. and creative thinking) and apply knowledge and skills
practical (involving autonomously and with
manual dexterity and the responsibility
use of methods, materials,
tools and instruments).
Level 52 Comprehensive, A comprehensive range of Exercise management and
specialised, factual cognitive and practical supervision in contexts of
Learning and theoretical skills required to develop work or study activities
outcomes knowledge within a creative solutions to where there is
field of work or study abstract problems unpredictable change;
and an awareness of review and develop
the boundaries of that performance of self and
knowledge others

2
1. The descriptor for the short cycle (i.e. short professional Bachelor study cycle) developed by the Joint
Quality Initiative as part of the Bologna process, (within or linked to the first cycle), corresponds to the learning
outcomes for EQF level 5.

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 Knowledge Skills Responsibility and
autonomy
Level 63 Advanced knowledge Advanced skills, Manage complex technical
of a field of work or demonstrating mastery or professional activities or
Learning study, involving a and innovation, required projects, taking
outcomes critical understanding to solve complex and responsibility for decision-
of theories and unpredictable problems in making in unpredictable
principles a specialised field of work work or study contexts;
or study take responsibility for
managing professional
development of individuals
and groups
Level 74 Highly specialised Specialised problem- Manage and transform
knowledge, some of solving skills required in work or study contexts that
Learning which is at the research and/or are complex, unpredictable
outcomes forefront of innovation in order to and require new strategic
knowledge in a field develop new knowledge approaches; take
of work or study, as and procedures and to responsibility for
the basis for original integrate knowledge from contributing to professional
thinking and/or different fields knowledge and practice
research and/or for reviewing the
Critical awareness of strategic performance of
knowledge issues in a teams
field and at the
interface between
different fields
Level 85 Knowledge at the The most advanced and Demonstrate substantial
most advanced specialised skills and authority, innovation,
Learning frontier of a field of techniques, including autonomy, scholarly and
outcomes work or study and at synthesis and evaluation, professional integrity and
the interface between required to solve critical sustained commitment to
fields problems in research the development of new
and/or innovation and to ideas or processes at the
extend and redefine forefront of work or study
existing knowledge or contexts including research
professional practice
Source: European Commission, 2008

For each of the eight levels and the three dimensions (Knowledge, Skills, and
Competence) detail descriptors were given that define the levels in the EQF. The

3
2. The descriptor for the first cycle (i.e. Bachelor HE study cycle) corresponds to the learning outcomes for
EQF level 6.
4
3. The descriptor for the second cycle (i.e. Master HE study cycle) corresponds to the learning outcomes for
EQF level 7.
5
The descriptor for the third cycle (i.e. PhD/Doctoral study cycle) corresponds to the learning outcomes for EQF
level 8.

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descriptors indicate the learning outcomes relevant to qualifications at each
particular level in any system of qualifications.

3. Definition of learning goals

The learning goals describe what a learner will know, possess as skills, and develop
as attitudes and/or competences at the end of their learning. Thus, the learning goals
might be defined in a form of learning outcomes – “statements regarding what a
learner knows, understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process.
They are defined in terms of knowledge, skills and responsibility and autonomy.“
In this form of learning outcomes, the learning goals exist also in the description of
the different competencies, so it will be easier a learner to take out of a competence
description respective learning outcomes that s/he want to acquire/master and to
place it as their own learning goals.

4. Identification of one’s own learning needs and capacities on the base of

professional competence profiles
Why do you need to assess periodically your learning needs? Put simply – to be on
track with your profession and interests.
There are many ways to assess your learning needs by yourself. Some of the more
easy and accessible ways are given below.

4.1 Review of desirable professional competence profile

It is maybe the most straightforward and easiest way – to look carefully at a well-
developed professional competence profile that interests you and to read with
attention the description of the learning outcomes of the profile’s competences. Then,
to ask yourself whether you possess some or all of these competences, expressed in
learning outcomes, or not.
In a journal article Kieran Walsh (Walsh, K., 2006) gives concise review of several of
the most feasible other methods to (self-)assess your learning needs. They are listed
and shortly described below.

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4.2 360° appraisal
This method is feasible if you work in a team. You may ask your colleagues to give
you (or write shortly down) a feedback about your professional (and personal?)
strengths and weaknesses – in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and/or abilities.
A rule of thumb is that feedback should be balanced, descriptive, objective and
constructive.

4.3 Critical incident reviews

The primary purpose of these reviews is to find out what went wrong, how and why
it went wrong and how to prevent errors from being repeated. But they can also be
used as an educational tool. A real incident that occurred to your team is likely to
concentrate minds much more effectively than a dry research paper. The review
could look at things that went wrong … but could equally look at events that had a
positive outcome. The critical incident reviews have to be structured in a way that
first you identify the incident(s) you want to look at, then assure time for preparation
of thoughts and opinions for the incident, and at third place, organise a briefing
about the incident(s) – what happened and why the things went wrong. Finding the
learning gaps’ reasons is the desired outcome of the team/colleague briefing that can
point you out some of your learning needs.

4.4 Self-assessment
To perform a self-assessment, you need to keep a diary of learning needs that occur
during your working day. You simply should drop down notes about professional
questions and/or situations that demanded answers by you, and you do not know at
that moment. And this should be done on a regular daily basis. When you look back
at the diary you can identify your learning gaps. The gaps might be single, but they
might be also systematic – pointing at whole area of knowledge/skills/competences
that require your attention and action.

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4.5 Practice Review
This review requires either a scrutiny of formal/official data that already exist, or to
administer an official client satisfaction questionnaire. The analysis of the
questionnaires will show you the learning gaps you might have.

4.6 Observation
In this method you can ask your colleagues to observe your performance and
professional practicing and give you a feedback what you could do better. It could be
done also through recording your performance on video and a latter analysis of the
video by your colleagues and giving you feedback and advice on your actual
learning needs.

There are also many other more systematic and professional methods, performed by
learning designers, and if you can undertake such a review it will be of great help for
you. However, if you do not have such opportunity, you may use some of the
methods listed above. It is always better to use, if you can, more than one method -
both subjective and objective, for better and more precise identification of your
learning needs.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Search the www about the term “competence profiles for <profession>”,
or “competences framework for <profession>”, or similar, and find a
competence profiles (frameworks) for profession that is similar to your
specialty profile. Briefly describe the competences structure.

CONCLUSION
The Council of European Union defines the ‘competence’ as the
proven ability to use knowledge, skills and personal, social and/or
methodological abilities, in work or study situations and in
professional and personal development. The competence consists of knowledge,
skills and responsibilities and autonomy and could be presented at different level.

209
Stating the appropriate learning goals lies on a given competence framework,
reflecting individual’s presentation, needs and gaps.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. Explain the meaning of the term ‘competence framework’. Illustrate
the explanation by a general example (i.e. what is the general
competence framework of automobile driver?).
2. Why is it important to define correctly the learning goals?

LECTURE 2: DIGITAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, the learners will:
 recognize variety of digital possibilities for education and
training,
 use digital tools for searching effectively for learning and career opportunities,
 identify own level according to the Digital Competence Framework for
Citizens in relation to information and data literacy,
 identify own level according to the Digital Competence Framework for
Citizens in relation to Communication and collaboration competence area.

INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, there are a huge amount of online learning and training
opportunities are offered. The digital marketing is so aggressive, using
e-mails, social networks, web, artificial intelligence, and much more
technologies and tools, that the learner could feel loosed in the see of ‘very important’
learning needs.
The next chapter focuses on the digital competences to work with information and
data as well as to digital competences for collaborative and autonomous learning,
210
identifying own level and gaps, as a starting point for self-development. The good
base in this area will ensure the learner’s ability to look for, evaluate critically and
choose the appropriate digital learning courses or tools.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Digital possibilities for education, training and career opportunities
and guidance or support
There is an overwhelming amount of digital possibilities for
education, training, career opportunities and guidance and support available
through digital portals for learning opportunities on the Internet (Picture 1). Some of
the easily identifiable and recognisable sources are given below.

Picture 1: UNESCO: National Learning Platforms and Tools

Source: https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse/nationalresponses

PLOTEUS Portal: Learning Opportunities and Qualifications in Europe - Information

about Courses, Work-Based Learning and Qualifications
https://ec.europa.eu/ploteus/en

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European Portal for Youngsters in Vocational Education Training
http://mavoieproeurope.onisep.fr/en/
http://mavoieproeurope.onisep.fr/en/your-mobility-kit/work-and-jobs-in-europe/
Council of Europe: Training Courses
https://www.coe.int/en/web/youth/training-courses
EURES - The European Job Mobility Portal
https://ec.europa.eu/eures/public/homepage
Youth for Europe - The New European Youth Portal
https://youthforeurope.eu/
Erasmus+ | Opportunities for Individuals
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/opportunities/overview_en
Erasmus+ | Studying Abroad
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-
plus/opportunities/individuals/students/studying-abroad_en
Erasmus+ | Learning Mobility for Individuals
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-
plus/opportunities/organisations/learning-mobility/higher-education_en
Erasmus+ | Training Opportunities for Staff
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/opportunities/staff-training_en
EURAXESS: European Researchers Mobility Portal
https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/
The identification of the best suitable learning, training, and career opportunities for
every particular case depends heavily on the searching skills and strategies used.

Digital skills to search for learning and career opportunities

The digital skills to search for learning and career opportunities are given the
necessary attention in one of the identified and developed Eight Key European
Competences for Lifelong Learning namely, the Digital Competence (European
Commission, 2019). In the specially developed “DigComp 2.1: The Digital Competence
Framework for Citizens with Eight Proficiency Levels and Examples of Use” (JRC, 2017), the
first Competence Area is “Information and data literacy”.

212
Further, for each of the 3 competences in Competence Dimension 2 (Table 2) 8
Proficiency levels are detailed, corresponding to the eight levels of the European
Qualification Framework (EQF). Levels 5 to 8 correspond to the four levels of
Higher Education (HE) study (professional bachelor, bachelor, master, and doctoral).
Thus, very detail description of the necessary competences for information and data
literacy are developed as concrete learning outcomes of what is expected a student to
be able to perform for each of the HE cycles of study (JRC, 2017). These levels of
Information and data literacy competences will serve also the capacity to search for
learning and career opportunities.

Table 2: Information and data literacy competence area

Competence areas Competences
Dimension 1 Dimension 2
1. Information and data 1.1 Browsing, searching and filtering data, information
literacy: and digital content
To articulate information To articulate information needs, to search for data,
needs, to locate and information and content in digital environments, to
retrieve digital data, access them and to navigate between them. To create
information and content. and update personal search strategies.
To judge the relevance of 1.2 Evaluating data, information and digital content
the source and its content. To analyse, compare and critically evaluate the
To store, manage, and credibility and reliability of sources of data, information
organise digital data, and digital content. To analyse, interpret and critically
information and content. evaluate the data, information and digital content.
1.3 Managing data, information and digital content
To organise, store and retrieve data, information and
content in digital environments. To organise and process
them in a structured environment.
Source: European Commission: Joint Research Centre

Learning both collaboratively and autonomously

Similarly, the Second Competence area “Communication and collaboration” of the
Digital Competence (JRC, 2017) can serve the skills of learning both collaboratively
and autonomously. Table 3 presents the constituting competences of communication
and collaboration competence area.

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 Table 3: Communication and collaboration competence area
Competence areas Competences
Dimension 1 Dimension 2
2. Communication and 2.1 Interacting through digital technologies
collaboration: To interact through a variety of digital technologies and
To interact, communicate to understand appropriate digital communication
and collaborate through means for a given context.
digital technologies while 2.2 Sharing through digital technologies
being aware of cultural To share data, information and digital content with
and generational others through appropriate digital technologies. To act
diversity. To participate as an intermediary, to know about referencing and
in society through public attribution practices.
and private digital 2.3 Engaging in citizenship through digital technologies
services and participatory To participate in society through the use of public and
citizenship. To manage private digital services. To seek opportunities for self-
one’s digital identity and
empowerment and for participatory citizenship through
reputation.
appropriate digital technologies.
2.4 Collaborating through digital technologies
To use digital tools and technologies for collaborative
processes, and for co-construction and co-creation of
resources and knowledge.
2.5 Netiquette
To be aware of behavioural norms and know-how while
using digital technologies and interacting in digital
environments. To adapt communication strategies to
the specific audience and to be aware of cultural and
generational diversity in digital environments.
2.6 Managing digital identity
To create and manage one or multiple digital identities,
to be able to protect one's own reputation, to deal with
the data that one produces through several digital tools,
environments and services.
Source: European Commission: Joint Research Centre

Similarly to the Digital competence area “Information and data literacy” (Table 2),
for the “Communication and collaboration” area (Table 3), 8 Proficiency levels are
detailed in terms of learning outcomes for each of the 6 competences of Competences
Dimension 2. Again, levels 5 to 8 correspond to the four levels of HE study
(professional bachelor, bachelor, master, and doctoral). They can be seen in JRC,
2017. These levels of Communication and collaboration competences will serve also
the capacity for learning both collaboratively and autonomously.

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 TASK FOR STUDENTS
Locate on the web and download the publication of the Joint Research
Centre (JRC) from 2017 “DigComp 2.1: The Digital Competence
Framework for Citizens with eight proficiency levels and examples of
use”. Find in the publication and put in a table the Proficiency levels 5 to
8 (corresponding to the higher education levels in EQF) of the
Competences 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 from Competence area 1: “Information and
Data Literacy” (see Table 2 in this chapter).

CONCLUSION
In this chapter you have been familiarized with the Digital
Competence Framework for Citizens in the areas of Information
and data literacy and Communication and collaboration. The
European Qualification Framework provides you with a tool to identify your
learning needs using the listed concrete learning outcomes expected at each level.
Improving the digital competences in these areas is warranty for quick orientation
among variety of learning resources and courses.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. Why the information and data literacy are important?
2. How could you evaluate the reliability of the listed sources in the
internet as a response to your digital search?
3. Why it could be necessary to create multiple digital identities?

LECTURE 3: LEARNING PLANS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, the learners will:
 know what is learning plan,

215
  be familiarized with a strategy for learning plan development,
 develop individual learning plan based on a developed competence
framework.

INTRODUCTION
A learning plan is an individual action plan developed to help you
establish, achieve, and evaluate your learning goals. It should be based
on your established learning needs, and should make use of the digital learning
opportunities searched and identified by you.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
The learning plan is the subsequent stage in the chain of identified
competence profiles to strive for – the established learning needs –
the identified learning opportunities – the developed individual
learning plan to achieve the competence profile.
There are different ways to develop an individual learning plan. One reasonably
clear, concise, and successive way is proposed in the Instruction Guide for
Manitoba’s Licensed Practical Nurses (College of Licensed Practical Nurses of
Manitoba, 2019).

This individual learning plan has five components as follows:

1. Goal: Learning outcome/(part of) Competence
2. Planned Interventions
3. Completed Interventions
4. Impact on Practice
5. Evaluation of Learning

Once you set and write down your goal for your Learning Plan, you should think of,
search for, and list your planned interventions (Learning Paths). They may include
different learning events that head towards achieving your goal (e.g. attending
conferences, workshops, educational events; completing courses; consultations with

216
experts; self-study; etc.). Most of the interventions you plan might be attended and
conducted digitally, on the base of the identified digital learning opportunities.
You must keep record in your plan of the completed interventions, collecting all
evidences of the successfully passed through learning events – diplomas, certificates,
acquired competences, badges, rating scores. When done digitally, you will collect a
range of digital evidences of completion and performance (e.g. certificates, acquired
competences, badges, rating scores).
Next step you should do in your learning plan is to describe the impact on practice
of your newly acquired Learning Outcomes (Competences). In order to precisely
reflect the resulting Impact on your practice or study you may ask yourself e.g. the
following questions (College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Manitoba, 2019):

 What did you learn that you did not know before?
 In what ways has the learned contributed to your competence profile?
 How have your client/study relationships changed and improved as a result?
 It is important that you describe both:
- what you learned,
- the impact of what you learned on your study or practice.

In total, in your impact on practice, give a notion on how your study or practice
changed or improved as a result of your learning interventions.
And finally, at the end of your learning plan, you have to perform evaluation of
learning that you undertake in your plan. You might not perform a rigor evaluation,
but rather you can evaluate your overall sense of your learning experience. This may
help you identify and plan additional learning activities for a following period.
However, in Chapter 5 of this module we will consider some digital tools for (self-)
evaluation and (self-) assessment of learning.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
A free of charge digital planning service is identified that can serve
the learning plan design, development, execution, and evaluation. The

217
service is called DojoIBL (https://dojo-ibl.appspot.com/) developed under a
European Erasmus+ project and it can handle various types of educational and
learning events and activities.
In Chapter 6 of this module a workshop for creation of Individual Learning Plan
with DojoIBL (Picture 2, Picture 3) will be described for performing with the
students.

Source: https://dojo-ibl.appspot.com/

One might create their Individual Learning Plan also with more common digital
tools as for example with Google Calendar, by creating a separate calendar named
Individual Learning Plan and following the recommended steps in this chapter.
However, good planning software with both free and paid options for use, could also
be find and used for creating individual learning plans. Two such examples are:
ClickUp: https://clickup.com/ Airtable: https://airtable.com/

218
Picture 2a and 2b: DojoIBL free planning and performance service
Source: https://dojo-ibl.appspot.com/

Picture 3: DojoIBL created project “Individual Learning Plan”

Source: https://dojo-ibl.appspot.com/

219
 TASK FOR STUDENTS
1. By following the described 5 steps for creation of an Individual
Learning Plan, create your individual learning plan for studying the
course “21st Century Skills” you are now enrolled in. Having in mind
the course curriculum and modules, try to figure out your learning
activities and timeframes during the course. Compose only the part of
the plan that contains the first two steps (Goal, and Planned
Interventions). The other three components of the course (Completed
Interventions, Impact on Practice, and Evaluation of Learning) you
should fill in gradually after completion of the different modules/stages
of your course.
2. Make attempt to put your plan in one of the software DojoIBL,
ClickUp, or Airtable that can hold, monitor, and track projects. You
can also find another free planning software to use for designing and
implementing your plan in it. Be sure to design in the software all five
components of the plan. Fill in the first two components of the plan,
and gradually fill in the other components as you advance in the
course.

CONCLUSION
The chapter provides you with a strategy for development of
effective learning plan in consideration with given competences
framework and identified learning needs and / or gaps. It is focused
on practice of setting learning goals, steps of intervention, evaluation of the results
on practice and recognition of the achievements. Provided digital tools could help
the learner to pass through this process in more efficient and reliable way.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What are the main components of the learning plan?
2. What kind of evidence could you collect to prove completing the
innervations for achieving learning goals?
3. How could you evaluate the Impact on practice of your learning plan?
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LECTURE 4: DIGITAL ENVIRONMENTS AND TOOLS FOR
LEARNING

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This lesson aims to introduce learners to the virtual learning
environments and digital tools, supporting and facilitating different
learning activities. The lesson includes a short presentation of some
popular virtual environments and ICT tools for learning, most of which are open
source or support free subscription plans. The provided examples explore some of
their popular features and basic functionalities, which are suitable both for learners
and educators. Covering all elements of the learning process (Gagne, 1985), the
presented digital environments and tools for learning aims to illustrate how they can
facilitate different teaching methods (such as active learning, inquiry-based learning,
competence-based learning) and learning styles (VARK) and to discover multiple
opportunities to learn in a digital era.

After completing this lesson, the learners will be able:

 to identify various digital environments and tools for learning,
 to identify different digital tools for monitoring, tracking, evaluation, and
assessment of learning process and learning achievements.

INTRODUCTION
Digital technologies and Internet practically support every aspect of the
learning process, making it more accessible, device neutral, easy to
follow and student-oriented. On one hand, any Internet search engine
(such as Google, Bing etc.) provides direct access to numerous learning materials
and knowledge artefacts, covering wide number of forms, such as entries in
encyclopaedias, multimedia sources (pictures, videos, audio), video streaming and
video tutorials, digital books, official reports, statistic data, research papers,
personal evidences (personal blogs, discussion forums), specialised websites and
many others. On the other hand, Internet technologies facilitate communication and

221
personal contact, stimulating learners to get involved in discussion forums, chat
rooms and sections for comments within specialised learning environments, as well
as to find and follow professionals, educators and experts in specific fields in social
network sites. Finally, new digital technology solutions facilitate teachers to apply
innovative teaching methodologies in class, including flipped classroom strategy,
inquiry-based learning and other active learning approaches.
Many educational institutions publish open educational resources (OER) within
open repositories, including course materials, lectures and presentations, syllabuses,
lecture notes, reading lists, assignments and educational artefacts such as course
works, master or doctoral thesis and many others. During the last years, the massive
online open courses (MOOCs) emerged as complete educational offerings, adding
new options for learning in Internet and expanding the traditional learning
landscape with free opportunities for learning for everyone.
Therefore, using technologies as a tool for learning is both expected and needed for
21st century professionals.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
New digital tools can successfully support all stages and phases of the
learning process in every forms of education – face-to-face, distance,
blended. Therefore, on the first place we will explore the Blooms’
taxonomy, and more specifically, the Bloom digital taxonomy. Focusing on the
impact of the new digital technologies on learning, Churches (2008) compile the
Bloom Digital taxonomy, classifying how digital tools can facilitate the learning
process, leading to high-order thinking and learning.

 remembering: Bullet pointing, Highlighting, Bookmarking or favouring,

Social bookmarking, Searching or “googling”;
 understanding: Advanced and Boolean Searching (be able to create, modify
and refine searches), Blog Journaling, Categorising & Tagging (digital
classification); Commenting and annotating, Subscribing;

222
 applying: Running and operating (hardware and applications to obtain a basic
goal or objective); Playing (understanding of process/task, application of
skills), Uploading and Sharing materials (to websites), Hacking (applying a
simple set of rules to achieve a goal or objective). Editing (a process or a
procedure to edit multimedia files).
 analysing: Mashing (mashups are integration of several data sources into a
single resource.) Linking (building links within and outside of documents and
web pages), Reverse-engineering; Cracking (understanding how the system
operates, analyse its strengths and weaknesses and then exploit them).
 evaluating: Blog/vlog commenting and reflecting (constructive criticism);
posting comments (to blogs, discussion boards, threaded discussions);
moderating; collaborating and networking (collaboration, leading to collective
intelligence; networking is a feature of collaboration, contacting and
communicating with relevant person). Testing (Alpha and Beta: testing of
applications, processes and procedures); Validating (be able to validate the
veracity of the information).
 creating: Programming; Filming, animating, video casting, podcasting, mixing
and remixing; Directing and producing; Publishing, production of video
blogs, blogging and also wikiing - creating, adding to and modify content in
wikis. Creating or building Mash ups.

Assuming that teachers play a critical role in the learning process, it is

interesting to notice the classification framework for Technology enabled practice
of Prestridge et de Aldama, (2016). They investigate how ICT are applied in
teaching, including the teachers’ beliefs, pedagogical practices with ICT, levels of
learning and technological competency. This way, the proposed framework
(Table 4) defines a method to gain more in-depth understanding how digital tools
support learning process.

223
 Table 4: Classification Framework for Technology-Enabled Teaching Practice
Epistemic Dualistic view Multiplistic Relativistic Relativism
beliefs
Pedagogical Developing Enrich existing curriculum Facilitate new
beliefs computer skills; ways of learning
supplementing
subject skills
Pedagogical Teacher centred Primarily Mix- Primarily Student centred
practices teacher balanced student
with ICT centred centred
Levels of Doing Thinking Thinking Critiquing Creating Sha-
learning about about and knowled ring
connecti- concepts evaluating ge knowl
ons edge
Technolo- Low Medium High
gical
competency
Source: Prestridge et de Aldama, 2016

Finally, taking in consideration the role of ICT tools in every stage of the learning
process, we will further explore the nine events of instructions, constituting the
framework for an effective learning process (Gagné, 1985). As illustrated on Picture
4, the nine events of instructions can be grouped in three main phases (Preparation
phase, Instruction and Practice phase and Assessment and Transfer phase).

Picture 4: The Nine events of instructions

Source: Gagne, 1985
SouGagne (1985)

Source:
224

Source:
Following this model, and taking in consideration the other classification schemes, in
the next section we will present the main features and elements of the digital
learning environments and ICT tools.
Not last, new technologies enable teachers to adopt innovative and active learning
approaches, raising students’ motivation, awareness and self-direction. For example,
digital technologies can support the flipped classroom strategy, encouraging active
learning, collaboration, and discovery. Thus, the proposed list of digital instruments
in Annex make a good reference for further experimenting in teaching and learning.

Digital Learning Environments (DLE)

They represents a federated, online environment that includes services and tools to
support the needs of teaching and learning in all modes (i.e., face-to-face,
blended/hybrid, and fully-online). Some common functions of the Digital Learning
Environments include:

 content management: creation, storage, access to and use of learning

resources;
 curriculum mapping and planning: lesson planning, assessment and
personalisation of the learning experience;
 learner engagement and administration: managed access to learner
information and resources and tracking of progress and achievement;
 communication and collaboration: emails, notices, discussion forums, chat,
wikis, blogs;
 additional learning facilities: live video conferencing or audio conferencing,
white board facilities.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
In the last years, the number of available digital learning tools and
applications is increasing considerably. In the following list (Table 5),
we will investigate some of the popular tools, facilitating one or more
of the learning processes of Gagne (1985).

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Table 5: Summary of the Digital learning tools, based on 9 stages of Instructional design
Tools Primary functions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Inform learners of the

Guidance for learning

Retention & transfer

Present the learning

Assess Performance
Stimulate recall of
Main attention

prior learning
objectives

Feedback
Practice
content
Prezi Presentation V V V V V
Thinglink Exploration board V V V V V
Glogster Multimedia poster V V V V V V V V
Padlet Collaborative
V V V V V V V V
pinboard
Flipsnack Flipbook V V V V
Picktochart Infographics V V V V V
Visme Design materials V V V V V
Infogram Interactive
V V V V V V
visualizations
PearDeck Interactive class V V V V V V V V
Mentimeter Interactive
V V V V V V
presentation
Socrative Class activities V V V V V V V
Kahoot! Interactive class
V V V V V V
work
Quizlet Exercises V V V V V V
Formative Assessment tool V V V V
Explain Collaborative white
V V V V V
Everything board
Animoto Video editing V V V V V
Active Make video
V V V V
Presenter tutorials
Edpuzzle Video editing/
V V V V V V
text, quizzes
TEDed Video for teaching V V V V V V V
FreeCam Tutorials V V V V
Audacity Audio editing V V
Voicethread Audio Storytelling V V V V V V
Pocket Bookmarking V V V V V
Zotero Academic sources V V V V
Source: Gagne, 1985 / authors of this module

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In the Annex, there are provided different tips and suggestions how to use different
digital tools in every step of the cycle.
It is important to note that social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube,
Instagram, WhatsApp, and others, are increasingly used by teachers and learners for
organising learning activities. Considering that these instruments are popular among
students, teachers can decide to exploit them in specific learning scenarios. However,
security and privacy issues should be taken into account, moreover, some of these
instruments have age limit (Facebook could be used only by students, older than 13
years old). Thus, privacy and security of the students should always be considered
when digital tools for learning are used.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

1. Please select three ICT tools from Annex and identify how you can
possibly use them in your learning/teaching activities.
2. Please, share with the group, one or two ICT tools that you’re used to
use in learning (identify how it relates to the Bloom digital taxonomy).

CONCLUSION
Available ICT instruments as Digital Learning Environments and
digital tools for learning aim to encourage lecturers and learners to
design and perform more complex and active learning experience,
leading to high-order thinking and knowledge retention. In addition, many
educational platforms provide ready-to-use and professionally designed templates,
tutorials and the best practices, enhancing users to achieve high-quality results
even without professional experience. Furthermore, recognizing possibilities of the
ICT tools for learning can reduce cognitive overload, increase learning satisfaction,
and prepare learners for new lifelong learning experience.

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 FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. How ICT technologies can facilitate the 9 stages of Instructional
design?
2. What are the main characteristics of Learning Management Systems
(LMS)?
3. Why should learners be familiar with specific ICT tools for learning?

LECTURE 5: DIGITAL TOOLS FOR (SELF-) EVALUATION

AND (SELF-) ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, the learners will:
 know methods and digital tools for assessment and self-
assessment of the results achieved in the learning process,
 choose the most appropriate methods and tools for evaluation of learning
results,
 use digital tools for qualitative and quantitative (self-)assessment of learning.

INTRODUCTION
Choosing effective methods and corresponding tools for evaluation of
the learning process and assessment of the results is in the core of
tracking the implementation of the learning plan. It provides the both
parties – the trainer and the learner with flexibility to take decisions during the
process, keeping learner on the right way to the achieving learning goals.
In this chapter you will be familiarised with a variety of methods for evaluation of
learning process and assessment of the results, when and how they could be
performed and what digital tools could support these processes.

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 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1. Digital tools that are aimed at measuring and assessing learners’
progress and results

There are many digital tools that are aimed at measuring and assessing learners’
progress and results. For example, different types of quizzes are easily and almost
entirely assessed automatically. For example, the Learning Management Systems
(LMS) have a big variety of quiz assessment questions (Picture 5) that can be
administered and graded automatically, or graded by a teacher.

Picture 5: Part of the quiz types of questions available in the LMS Moodle
Screenshot from LMS Moodle

While the quizzes are used for assessment with standardised tests, the so-called
Authentic Assessment uses mostly Rubrics (scale of criteria with levels) as a method
of assessment. They can be used as a method of self-assessment as well.
A rubric describes:

229
 1. The assessment criteria against which the learner’s achievement will be
measured.
2. The described achievement levels for each criterion, marked from excellent to
poor.

There are two types of rubrics – holistic, and analytical.

A holistic rubric lists only the assessment criteria for the learner’s work, all criteria
with a numeric uniform scale for assessment, ranging from excellent to poor;
An analytical rubric lists not only the assessment criteria, but defines for all criteria a
same number of achievement levels (from excellent to poor, and quantified with
points) with a short textual description for each level of what is to be achieved, and
what – not, in order a learner to be assessed at that level for the given criterion.
Most commonly, the analytical rubrics are organised in tables, where each table row
represents one criterion with its levels of achievement. The criterion is placed in the
left most cell of the row, and the levels of achievement with their descriptions are
placed each after other in the same row in ascending or descending order of their
scale points. An example of a rubric is given in Table 6.
In some rubrics, one can add a “Weight” column, when there are criteria that are
more important than others in the rubric. Thus, the points for a criterion can be
doubled, or tripled, or so, if needed.
With carefully developed rubrics one can assess and self-assess complex learning
tasks, multi-level competences, projects, collaborative work, learning portfolios,
his/her learning initiatives, and any other kind of non-routine and composite
learning undertakings.

230
 Table 6: Example of a Rubric - Assessment of computer presentation (an excerpt)
Presentation assessment Levels of performance
Criteria Weight Excellent (3 p.) Good (2 p.) Poor (1 p.)
Wording in x2 Wording is Wording is Wording is
concise, mostly to the chaotic in
slides
meaningful, to the topic, but not meaning. Often
topic, and logical. concise. Some lacks the point.
Adheres to the slides are too Most of the text
rule 7±2 rows on excessive in text. is “copy-
a slide pasted” directly
from sources.
Colour Design x1 Consistent, no Pleasant colours, No consistent
more than 4 good contrast colour scheme,
colours used, between text and colours are
pleasant, not background, but arbitrary, partial
irritating, with not consistent, too lack of
good background many/less readability due
v/s text contrast colours. to similar
colours of text
and
background.
……………. ……… …………… …………… ……………
……………. ……… …………… …………… ……………
……………. ……… …………… …………… ……………

Source: Authors of this module

2. Online free rubric makers6

 iRubric (custom): https://www.rcampus.com/indexrubric.cfm?
 RubiStar (customizable templates): http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
 Teachnology (premade and customized): https://www.teach-
nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/general/
 PBL Checklist (project based learning):
http://pblchecklist.4teachers.org/checklist.shtml
 RubricMaker (customizable templates): https://rubric-maker.com/

6
https://www.pbisrewards.com/blog/free-online-rubric-maker/

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 Picture 7: Designing Rubric with scale of criteria with levels in the LMS Moodle
Source: Screenshot from LMS Moodle

As a rubrics creation instrument could also be used any table-composing software

(e.g. spreadsheet or word processor). But in order to assess (semi-)automatically with
rubrics it is necessary to use dedicated software. For example, in some of the well-
developed Learning Management Systems (LMS) rubric assessment methods are
integrated for the learners’ assignments, so as, not only creation of rubric features are
integrated, but also the consequent assessment with the created rubric is (semi-)
automated, where the assessor needs only to click on the respective level for each
criterion in order to obtain calculated assessment results. On Picture below a
screenshot is presented of the LMS Moodle rubric creation functionality, where one
can create a rubric for the assessment of a given learners’ assignment, and each
learner can be semi-automatically assessed with this rubric.

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3. Monitoring and tracking of learning process
Monitoring and tracking of learning process could be organised and performed with
different types of software - dedicated, or mostly related to planning and
performance of projects/tasks.

3.1 Dedicated software for performance, monitoring, and tracking of learning

process

Software for Learning Portfolios (ePortfolios) are one of the dedicated types of
software that can be specifically used for monitoring and tracking of the learning
process. This software allows collection of a learner’s works (of different digitalised
types) throughout a lasting periods of learning endeavours and performance – e.g.
learning/training course periods, self-organised studies, etc. The collected works for
a given period of study time show the learner’s progress during the course time and
allows one to ascertain and track the study progress and mastering of the subject on
the base of the collected evidences of learner’s assignments. The portfolios can be
organised in different ways, with different levels of complexity and included
assessment instruments (e.g. developed rubrics for portfolio assessment). The
organisation, content/collection requirements, and assessment criteria for a given
portfolio can be developed and requested either by teachers/trainers in a course, or
can be developed, self-imposed and followed by a learner themselves.

3.2 Mahara ePortfolio System

It is a good example of an open-source and free ePortfolio system that is used both
by learning/training organisations and individual users. The majority of the well-
developed LMS platforms also integrate ePortfolio functionalities. There are a
number of other ePortfolio software instruments (standalone or web-based) as well,
part of them paid, and other part – with free and paid options, the free options being
often with somewhat restricted functionalities. (https://mahara.org/).
Another good example of performance, monitoring and tracking software for
learning processes is the free software StudySmarter.

233
(https://www.studysmarter.de/en/). It contains nice opportunities not only for
monitoring and tracking of learning by student (day by day, and hour by hour), but
also for uploading and creating of learning artefacts and materials, aimed at specific
study material.
Other types of learning-directed software that integrates planning and performance
functionalities can be used as well, although not especially developed for monitoring
and tracking of learning process, or developed for specific types of learning
processes. Such an example is already cited EC-project’s online platform DojoIBL
(https://dojo-ibl.appspot.com/), developed specifically for the needs of the Inquiry-
Based Learning (IBL) processes. It allows free creation of different work phases with
unlimited number of tasks in each phase. Each task can contain several types of
activities. In this way a consequent system of phases can be organised for the
purposes of performance, monitoring, and tracking of learning process.

3.3 Planning software that can be used for monitoring and tracking of the learning
process

In fact, monitoring and tracking of a learning process can be organised by using any
of the (project) planning software, since the monitoring and progress of work is an
inherent part of the functionalities of any planning software. Most of this software
however have the following drawbacks when used for monitoring and tracking of
learning, namely:
 It is paid software in the majority of the cases.
 It is too complex (or more complex than needed) when used only for
monitoring and tracking of learning processes.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
An example of such popular paid software is Microsoft Project.
However, good planning software with both free and paid options for
use, could also be find and used. Two such examples are:
 ClickUp: https://clickup.com/
 Airtable: https://airtable.com/

234
These software are web-based, both relatively easy to use, user friendly, and not with
overwhelming functionalities. In addition, their free use versions are meant for
personal use and have some restrictions in part of their project-aimed functionalities.
One can use (and is advised to use!) any of the listed above software also in complex
learning conditions, which require complex organisation of learning, e.g. for
problem-solving, coping with complexity, challenges, and changes in learning.

TASK FOR STUDENTS

Create rubric for assessment of individual learning plans. Develop the
criteria for assessment. The rubric should have four levels of achievement
for each criterion (Excellent, Good, Satisfactory, Poor). Fill in the
descriptions for each level of each criterion. Assign points to each level of
achievement. Make an overall grading scale from Excellent to Poor with a
range of points for each grade. You can make the rubric by using MS
Office products or you can use particular software for making rubrics
from the list with Online free rubric makers above in the chapter.

CONCLUSION
Completing this chapter, you are able to choose appropriate tools for
tracking your learning achievements. If you participate as a learner in
a guided digital course, you are able to use I efficient way the
assessment tools, provided by trainers, to track own progress and to drive your
learning. You are able to interpret and react to the results and feedback of the
authentic assessment, presented by rubric. Not at last place, you are equipped with
digital tools for collecting a learning portfolio and providing evidence for recognition
of the learning results.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. Number at least 3 types of questions for assessment of learning results,
which could be easily used in digital environment
2. What are the main components of a rubric?
3. What is the purpose of the learning portfolio?
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 LECTURE 6: DIGITAL COMPETENCE FRAMEWORKS
AND LEARNING PLANS IN ACTION

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, the learners will be able to use a
particular digital learning environment / platform to implement in
practice a competence framework and chosen learning plan.

INTRODUCTION
At the end of the module, you will be provided with the ‘big picture’ of
the digitally organized learning process. The topic will help you to
‘solve the puzzle’ connecting different parts of the learning process,
supported by appropriate digital tools, with a focus of achievement learning goals.
The experience of guided formal or informal learning in digital environment will
provide you with ideas for self-organizing non-formal learning process as well as for
effective and efficient participation in digital learning process as a learner.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
The digital development of competences is usually done when a given
set of related domain competences are grouped within a framework,
named competence framework. Their digital realization within the
Learning Management Systems is usually done at the highest – system level by users
with managerial or administrative roles. This is so, since the competence frameworks
and individual competences are high top level learning outcomes that are defined for
a whole domain, and cannot be changed at the levels of curriculum or instruction.
Similar structures have also the systems of learning standards, which are usually
defined at the high top level of the educational system.
In the formal educational settings (schools, higher education institutions) then, the
learning plans for individual users or group of users are defined with the purpose to
achieve given set of competencies (or standards, if the education is standard-based,
and not competency-based). The group learning plans, for given students’ cohorts

236
are then also defined at a top system level, since they are uniform for a given group
(grade) of students. The individual learning plans in an LMS, however, can be
defined by an individual student through a selection of particular competences (or
standards) that have to be pursued and achieved by the student for a given period of
time. Particular competence (or standard) can be linked to different study courses,
and can be eventually achieved by studying different courses, if it is linked and
covered by one or another of these courses. In this way, a student, following their
individual learning plan, can select one or another course, covering the same
competence, and thus, can follow different learning paths on his/her choice, when
achieving particular competence. This is demonstrated in the Picture 6 below.

Course 1
Group Learning
Plan 1
Competence Competence 1
framework

L
Competence 4
e
Group Learning a
Competence 1 Plan 2 r
n
Competence 2 i
Course 2
n
Individual g
Competence 3 Learning Plan 1 Competence 2

P
Competence 4 a Competence 3
Individual
Learning Plan 2 t
h
Competence 4

Picture 6: Competence framework, competences, Learning Plans, Courses, Learning Paths

Source: Authors of this module

The implementation within a LMS of a developed framework with competences is

1. A Manager at System level in Moodle creates an empty competence
framework, gives it a name, and populates it with the framework competences
by adding one by one all competencies in the framework;

237
2. When done, s/he can add a Learning Plan Template with a given name, which
is a group learning plan, and populates it with a (sub)set of competences from
the already created in Step 1 Competence Framework. Then, this Learning
plan template can be assigned by the manager to any individual student, or
student cohort;
3. Individual Learning Plans in Moodle, can be created by any student from their
personal profile in Moodle, under the “Miscellaneous” section of their profile,
from the option “Learning Plans”. The student has to give name of their
individual learning plan, should chose and add the desired competences from
the competence framework list, can, if decide, to add due date (completion
date) for the plan, and finally, can set the status of their learning plan as Draft,
or Active;
4. Finally, the student can choose an individual learning path for achieving the
selected competences in their learning plan by selecting for enrolment study
courses in Moodle in which the desired competences are offered for
achievement.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE

238
239
Picture 7: Creating Competence Framework and Competences in Moodle
Source: Screenshot from LMS Moodle

240
 Picture 8: Creating Individual Learning Plan in Moodle
Source: Screenshot from LMS Moodle

TASK FOR STUDENTS

In Moodle, create an Individual Learning Plan for study of one of the
course modules of the “21st Century Skills” course. Add to the plan the
competences that are pertinent to this module. During the course, monitor
your advancement with the plan and the achievement of the competences
from your Dashboard in Moodle.

CONCLUSION
This practically-oriented chapter provides you with a tool for
description and implementation of your own learning plan, based on
the particular competence framework. The practical experience
ensures a deeper understanding of the relationships between competence
framework, learning plan and learning path. It allows you to develop your own
learning path, corresponding to your particular gaps and needs, related to the
desirable level on a particular competence framework.

241
 FEEDBACK QUESTIONS
1. What is the relationships between competence framework, learning
plan and learning path in terms of digital learning environment?
2. Is it possible one and the same digital learning course to cover different
learning plans?
3. What does the learning path describe?

CONCLUSION TO THE WHOLE MODULE

Completing the module ‘Using technology as a tool for learning’ the
students are familiarized with the concept of digital learning. They
are able to use a competence framework for development own
learning plan and to track own progress by the use of digital technologies.
The presented digital tools are appropriate for completing particular parts of the
learning process as well as for design and implementation of the full digital learning
course. The successful completing of the chapter provide students with possibilities
to act as engaged learner, spending own time and efforts in the most efficient way. It
provides them also with competences to design and organize a small digital
environment for self-education, informal collaborative learning in team or even to
provide professional qualification for their teams in a future professional
environment.

LITERATURE
Caena, F. (2019). Developing a European Framework for the Personal, Social &
Learning to Learn Key Competence (LifEComp). In Punie, Y. (ed). Literature Review &
Analysis of Frameworks. EUR 29855 EN, Publications Office of the European Union,
Luxembourg, 2019, ISBN 978-92-76-11225-9, doi:10.2760/172528, JRC117987
Churches, A. (2008). Bloom's Digital Taxonomy. Retrieved from :
http://burtonslifelearning.pbworks.com/f/BloomDigitalTaxonomy2001.pdf
College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Manitoba (2019). Continuing Competence
Program - Instruction Guide for Manitoba’s Licensed Practical Nurses. Retrieved from:
https://www.clpnm.ca/wp-content/uploads/CCP-Instruction-Guide.pdf
Council of the European Union. (2017). Council Recommendation of 22 May 2017 on
the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning and Repealing the
Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on

242
the Establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning.
In Official Journal of the European Union, 15.6.2017 (2017/C 189/03).
European Commission. (2008). The European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong
Learning (EQF). European Communities, Luxembourg. ISBN 978-92-79-08474-4;
doi:10.2766/14352.
European Commission. (2019). Key Competences for Lifelong Learning, Luxembourg
(Publications Office of the European Union). © European Union. PDF Version: ISBN:
978-92-76-00476-9; doi:10.2766/569540.
Gagné, R. M., & Gagné, R. M. (1985). Conditions of Learning and Theory of Instruction.
Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Joint Research Centre (JRC), The European Commission’s In-house Science Service
(2016). In EntreComp: The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework. © European Union.
PDF version: ISBN 978-92-79-58538-8; ISSN 1831-9424 doi: 10.2791/593884
Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s Science and Knowledge
Service. (2017). DigComp 2.1: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens with Eight
Proficiency Levels and Examples of Use. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the
European Union. PDF version: ISBN 978-92-79-68006-9; ISSN 1831-9424;
doi:10.2760/38842
Prestridge, S., & de Aldama, C. (2016). A Classification Framework for Exploring
Technology-Enabled Practice–Frame TEP. In Journal of Educational Computing
Research, 54(7), 901-921.
Smaldino, S., Lowther, D., & Russell, J. (2012). Instructional Media and Technologies for
Learning, 10th Edition. Pearson Education, Inc. Boston, MA, USA.
Smith, P. L., & Ragan, T. J. (2004). Instructional Design (3rd Edition). Wiley/Jossey-
Bass Education.
Walsh, K. (2006). How to Assess your Learning Needs. In Journal of the Royal Society of
Medicine, 2006 Jan; 99(1): 29–31.
https://www.ecompetences.eu/ – A Common European Framework for ICT
Professionals in All Sectors
https://www.hrsg.ca/competency-toolkit-resources?submissionGuid=a660657c-
27b8-4a0e-8a4a-db5d7c1c9692 – Competency Toolkit Resources - Human Resource
Systems Group
https://ai.hrsg.ca/ - Free Tool: See the Competencies for Any Job Description -
Competence Creation Tool - See AI-Powered Competency Selection in Action
Human Resource Systems Group
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000213475 - UNESCO ICT Competency
Framework for Teachers

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 ANNEX - List of digital tools for learning

Digital Learning Environments

Moodle is a free and open-source

learning management system (LMS),
distributed under the GNU General
Public License. Moodle is one of the most
used LMS in the world, in schools,
universities, workplaces and other
sectors. Moodle supports all functions of

Moodle a VLE, and has many functionalities,

enabling content delivery and commu-
nication, learning management process
and assessment procedures.

edX is a massive open online course

(MOOC) provider. It hosts online
university-level courses in a wide range
of disciplines to a worldwide student
Edx body, including some courses at no
charge. edX is a non-profit organization
and runs on the free Open edX open-
source software platform. More than 140
schools, non-profit organizations, and
corporations offer courses on the edX
website. edX has around 18 million
students taking more than 2,200 courses
online.

244
 MS Teams is a DLE, enabling video con-
ferencing, virtual face-to-face discussions
and various learning activities.
It supports collaboration with Office 365
instruments, communication tools, assig-
nments, gradebooks and many others.

MS teams

Google Classroom is a DLE developed

by Google for education providers. It
aims to simplify video conferencing, as
well as for creating, distributing, and
grading assignments. Connected to other
Google applications, the primary
Google Classroom purpose of Google Classroom is to
streamline the process of sharing files
and organizing learning processes for
teachers and students.

Digital tools for presenting learning content: presentations, digital posters,

pinboards, infographics

Prezi is a digital software for creating

interactive presentations, illustrating
complex ideas and relationships,
incorporating multimedia, text, images
and video. Using functions as zoom-in
zoom-out, Prezi makes more effective,
Prezi more persuasive, and more engaging

245
 presentations compared to PowerPoint. It
can be used as presentation, visualisation
and storytelling tool, keeping the
attention of learners.

Thinglink allows educators to create

interactive images with music, sounds,
texts, and photographs. Thinglink offers
the possibility for teachers to create
learning methodologies that awaken the
curiosity of students through interactive
content that can expand their knowledge.
The educational content can be shared on

Thinglink other websites or on social networks.

Glogster helps learners to make virtual

posters, using visual content. This app
allows educators and learners to create
multimedia posters by combining text
information, photos, and videos. The
creations are called glogs and stored in a
special library called Glogpedia. Con-

Glogster taining over 40 thousand different glogs

on various subjects and topics, this tool
enables effective teaching and learning.

246
 Padlet is a digital pinboard for images,
videos, text files, links, and more. Padlet
motivate students to work together and
brainstorm. It can be used to share digital
content and to improve the engagement
of the students. Some of the Padlet
functions: brainstorm for students, dis-
Padlet
cuss topics and share Internet findings
and visual aids. It can be used as a tool
for organizing student’s portfolio, get
feedback and assessment.

Flipsnack is an online tool that helps to

boost the engagement level of the
learners. This is an app for creating
digital flipbooks, brochures, presen-
tations and learning materials. This
digital tool can be used by teachers for
educational purposes and by students for
presenting projects in class in a really
interesting way. The tool works with
Flipsnack .PDFs and .JPGs. To create a flipbook,
educators have to upload images, write
information and present it to the world.

247
 Piktochart is visualisation app and
digital tool which can be used by both
educators and students for various
educational purposes. This tool allows
users to create infographics, presen-
tations, posters, and more visual

Piktochart materials. It is perfect for classroom

activity, as well as for home activity.

Visme is another visualisation tool for

classroom which provide educators and
students with tools to create infographics,
presentations, reports and more visual
content materials. Visme provides all
kinds of templates and graphic resources
to help visualize any kind of data or

Visme assignment. You can insert videos, make

animations, insert links, etc.

Infogram is an easy to use visualization

and infographics platform. It has options
for creating and sharing infographics,
online reports, digital charts, interactive
maps, dashboards, and social media
visuals. Infogram has an intuitive drag-
and-drop editor that converts users’ data
Infogram
into infographics that can be published,
embedded, or shared.

248
 Interactive tools for animating classwork, to increase feedback in class, and to
organize active learning experiences

PearDeck is an interactive presentation

tool. It enables educators to engage the
class, as students can respond to built-in
questions using a wide range of tools.
With solutions rooted in active learning
and formative assessment, it works with
learners of every age and ability. It
works seamlessly with powerful

PearDeck classroom tools from Google and

Microsoft and enable lecturers to design
brilliant lessons with interactive
questions, polls, quizzes, formative
assessments.

Mentimeter allows lecturers to build

interactive presentations with the easy-to-
use online editor. Presenters can add
questions, polls, quizzes, slides, images,
gifs and more to make more engaging
presentations. The audience can vote and
provide feedback, answering the ques-
Mentimeter
tions with their mobiles, as well to get
real-time input from remote teams and
online students with live polls, quizzes,
word clouds, Q&As.

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 Socrative is a digital tool for making
classroom activities more engaging. It
helps to assess and get immediate insight
on students’ knowledge. Lecturers can
launch various types of assessments and
follow the results in real time. Socrative is
a system that allows teachers to create
exercises or educational games which

Socrative students can solve using mobile devices.

Activities that engage students: quizzes,
reporting, chat and discussion rooms,
“Space Race” - competition among stu-
dents and feedback.

Kahoot! is an educational platform that is

based on games and questions. Through
this tool, teachers can create
questionnaires, discussions, or surveys
that complement academic lessons. The
material is projected in the classroom and
it supports videos, images, and diagrams
to questions. “Kahoot!” promotes game-
Kahoot!
based learning, increase student enga-
gement and create a dynamic, social, and
fun educational environment.

250
 By using flashcards, games and more fun
activities, Quizlet allows students to
learn a subject and assess themselves.
Everyone can create their own study set
or choose an already existing study set.
Quizlet even lets you study on the go, so

Quizlet students can learn and test their

knowledge from literally everywhere.

Formative is a formative assessment

software, allowing lecturers to create an
assignment and get live feedback from
the students. It presents the results with
real-time feedback.
Formative

Explain Everything is an application for

interaction in a virtual environment. This
digital tool allows students and teachers
to collaborate on an interactive white-
board thus encouraging group activities.
With the drag-and-drop options, Explain

Explain Everything Everything is easy and intuitive to work

with.

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 Tools for preparing and using video/audio materials for lecturing

Animoto is a digital tool that allows

educators and students to create high-
quality videos in a short time and from
any mobile device, helping to improve
academic lessons. The Animoto interface
is friendly and practical, allowing
Animoto
teachers to create audio-visual content
that adapts to educational needs.

ActivePresenter is a screen casting and

eLearning software which can be used to
create software demonstrations, tutorials,
simulations, and quizzes. It allows
exporting to a series of images, HTML
slideshows, documents (PDF, MS Word,
Active Presenter
Excel, PowerPoint), videos (AVI, MP4,
WMV, WebM), and interactive
simulations (HTML5).

Edpuzzle is a big booster for flipped

learning teachers. Lecturers can custo-
mize regular videos with engaging inter-
active learning tools. They can add
quizzes and feedback, as well track
students’ actions and progress with this
Edpuzzle tool.

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 The TED’s tradition of excellence
continues with supporting educators to
use videos as teaching resource. Lecturers
can watch videos, explore lessons, and
view learning series compilations of all
kinds. Lecturers can create additional
TEDEd activities by adding quizzes (think),
additional questions (Dig deeper) and
encourage further discussions.

Free Cam is a simple screen recorder for

Windows. It provides a full set of features
for creating professional video lessons
such as selecting a recording area,
recording a voice over and system
sounds, and highlighting the mouse
cursor. Lecturers can save screencasts on

Free Cam their desktop or share videos on

YouTube.

Audacity is free open source and cross-

platform software for recording and
editing audio. With this tool, lecturers
can record live audio, cut, copy, or mix
sounds together, change the speed or
pitch of a recording, and much more.
Audacity offers a free, professional-

Audacity quality service with a full suite of editing

capabilities: editing background noise,
copying and pasting audio, separating
and combining audio tracks, etc.

253
 VoiceThread is basically an app for
presentations and storytelling which
actually records the student talking. This
way, the students can practice their
speaking skills while building confidence
and allows teachers to assess their work.
VoiceThread

Tools for organizing, bookmarking and collecting learning materials

Pocket is a bookmarking tool for lecturers

and teachers on the go. It can be used to
save articles, videos, images, and lots
more for later viewing.

Pocket

Zotero supports saving academic

research artefacts with a single click, with
access to a library of citation support
materials. Zotero reminds that citing
sources is more complicated, and
collecting those works cited pages are an

Zotero important part of the academic and social

learning process.

© Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Bulgaria

254
Erdinç Duru - Asuman Duatepe Paksu - Murat Balkis - Sibel Duru

st
21 Century Skills
Social Constructivist
Didactic Guide

MOTTO: “By giving our students practice in talking with others, we

give them frames for thinking on their own.”
Lev. S. Vygotsky

255
 21ST CENTURY SKILLS SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVIST
DIDACTIC GUIDE

The rapid changes in the world affects not only the social and economic structure but
also the teaching and learning process. Although the role of education has not been
changed since the industrial revolution, the subjects, skills, and competencies are
changing according to the market needs. As the main role of education is to train the
skilled workforce for the industry, the educational objectives are also changing to
cope with the demand of the industry. Therefore, 21st Century Skills are becoming
more important for competitive and constantly evolving world of work. The teaching
of 21st Century Skills is the main aim of the Erasmus+ project CATCH 21st Century
Skills and this didactic guide is one of the intellectual outputs of this project. The
main objective this guide is to give practical hints to academic staff on how learning
processes should be organized, how the learning environment should be planned,
how motivation factors of the target group should be regarded, what kind of adult
training and facilitation techniques should be used according to the principle of
Vygotsky's constructivist theory.

TEACHING AND LEARNING APPROACH OF 21ST CENTURY SKILLS

In the rapidly developing information and technological age of the 21st century, the
development of 21st Century Skills is critical to be useful in both social and economic
life. 21st-century skills are high-level skills, and it is challenging to develop these
skills with traditional educational models. Because the development of these skills is
process-based rather than product-based. Therefore, in order to support the
development of these skills, it is essential to expand the understanding of
constructivist education, but more specifically, social constructivist education.
Unfortunately, social constructivism is a theory of knowledge and learning, not
teaching. Therefore, a well understanding of the meaning and basic assumptions of
(social) constructivism can be seen as an important step in creating a (social)
constructivist learning-teaching environment. Although in the constructivist
approach, there are different views, like radical, cognitive, and social constructivism,

256
on how information is formed, all constructivist theories see learning as the process
of creating meaning through experiences and internalizing it. In other words, it is
claimed that knowledge is socially structured (Demirel, 2005; Duru, 2005; Driscoll,
2000; Fosnot ve Perry, 2005; Ormond, 1999; Pepin, 1998; Richardson, 1997; von
Glasersfeld, 1995b; Vygotsky, 1978). In short, constructivists believe that we make
sense of the world through our experience. Experiences provide us with conceptual,
theoretical, and relational abstractions. (Duru, 2005)
According to the traditional understanding of education, "the reality is independent
of human ideas; the underlying reality is organizational principles that can be
discovered; the truth is achieved through systematic and specific observation of
reality; the aim of the research is to control and predict human behavior" (Peca, 2000,
p.9). This philosophical understanding breaks the link between facts and meaning,
theory and observation, and the observer and the observed (Fleury, 1998). On the
other hand, (social) constructivist understanding can be characterized by two
different philosophical views. First, people historically and culturally construct
information themselves in connection with their environment (Duru, 2005; Fleury,
1998; Ormond, 1999; Pepin, 1998; Vygotsky, 1978). As second, "the function of
cognition is to organize one's experiential world, not to discovery an ontological
reality" (Fleury, 1998, p. 158). According to Pepin (1998), "there is no constructing a
phenomenon unless it has already figured in the field of experience" (p. 177).
Therefore, the main focus of social constructivism is the social process of constructing
meaning from individual's experiences with their environment (Richardson, 1997;
von Glasersfeld, 2005; Vygotsky, 1978).

LEARNING AND TEACHING

According to social constructivism, in addition to knowledge and reality, learning is
also a social, meaning-making, and internalization process. In other words, social
constructivists believe that learning is a process of giving meaning and
internalization, and believing that knowledge is socially constructed by students to
require self-regulation and self-reflection (Driscoll, 2000; Fosnot and Perry, 2005;
Ormond, 1999; Richardson, 1997 von Glasersfeld, 1995b; Vygotsky, 1978). In this

257
model, an authentic experience is the primary learning process. According to the
constructivist understanding, it is believed that we have realized the world through
experiences that provide empirical and reflective abstractions, including concepts,
relationships, and models that are actively developed in the process of assimilation,
accommodation, and balance. (Brooks and Brooks, 1999; Demirel, 2005; Driscoll,
2000; Oxford, 1997). In addition, new experiences must be built on pre-existing
experiences for learning to occur (Garrison, 1998; Pepin, 1998).
Vygotsky (1978) also argues that a socially productive environment is needed for
learning and that the cognitive functions of the individual develop more when
working with more experienced individuals. According to social constructivists,
information is formed by the joint decision of the social group. While structuring
meaning in a social context, individuals share the meaning they create and affect the
thoughts of other individuals, and they themselves are influenced by these
individuals (Fer & Cırık, 2007). Verenikina (2010) noted that "Vygotsky stated that
the human mind constructed through a subject's interaction with the world and is an
attribute of the relationship between subject and object" (p.2). Emphasizing the
socio-cultural dimension of constructivism, Vygotsky states that the direction of
cognitive development is from the environment to individual. Internalization and
assimilation are essential for acquiring knowledge in the social environment.
Another critical element in this process is language. Language plays a crucial role in
building the social environment (Hickey and McCaslin, 2001). According to Demirel
(2005), the individual transfers the information to the individuals around him
through language. Demirel (2005) states that there are three primary functions of
language: external speech, egocentric speech, and inner speech. While cultural
information is formed through external/social speech, the process of meaning is
realized by establishing relationships between information through inner speech
(Demirel, 2005).
Hickey and McCaslin (2001) argued that in the social constructivism approach,
individuals and society are considered as inseparable from each other. For this
reason, the social forces of that society gain importance in the process of
constructing. Therefore, the social effects of that society gain significance in the

258
process of the construction. Basically, this approach argues that culture and learning
experiences cannot be separated. Each culture has a specific style of thinking and
skill. The social constructivist approach suggested that educators have to consider
the cultural structure; because the difference in the cultural structure causes
variations in the development and learning processes of children (Hickey &
McCaslin, 2001).
According to social constructivism, knowledge is initially constructed in a social
context, and then individuals internalize and use this knowledge (Bruning, 1999; M.
Cole, 1991; Eggan and Kauchak, 2004; cited in Amineh & Asl, 2015). As quoted in
Cooper, Basson, and Schaap (2006), Derry (1999) stated that social constructivists
give great importance not only to culture but also to context in understanding what
is happening in society and creating information based on this understanding. It not
only recognizes the exceptionality and complication of the student but also
emboldens, assesses, and rewards them as an integral and significant part of the
learning (Gredler 1997; Wertsch 1997; cited in Cooper, Basson, & Schaap, 2006).
Social constructivist learning environments should be different from traditional
learning environments. In the traditional learning environment, the content of the
lesson is divided into small topics so that the student can get information more
quickly, memorize, and repeat when necessary. On the other hand, since the
experiences of people cannot be separated from their social content in a social
constructivist learning environment, the course content and students' experiences are
integrated into the social environment.
Therefore, in traditional educational settings, teachers expect similar skill-centered
learning products from all students, while social constructivist teachers are open to
different thoughts, knowledge, and experiences from students. Because these
experiences and differences are considered important in understanding students'
mental development and how they make sense of the world they live in (Desautels,
Garrison & Fleury, 1998; Dewey, 1916; Vygotsky, 1978). In addition, social
constructivists believe that human experiences cannot be separated from their own
context. As a result, social constructivist teaching is highly integrated in terms of
content while focusing on social integration through collaboration. While traditional

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education is basically defined as a technical task, social constructivist education is an
intellectual and ethical effort that focuses on students' strengths and potentials and
helps students understand their world by developing alternative ways of seeing
cultural, social, economic aspects and critical thinking (Desautels, Garrison & Fleury,
1998).

THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENTS

From a social constructivist perspective, the central role of teaching is to facilitate
students' learning. The instructor as a facilitator is concerned not only with what
students learn but also with how students learn. The aim is to help students manage
themselves and empower themselves (Oxford, 1997). In other words, one of the
primary responsibilities of the instructor is to investigate what is happening in
students' minds (von Glasersfeld, 1995b, 1998). Instructors should help students
reflect, evaluate, and test their results (Fleury, 1998). Instructors using this approach
are not only facilitators but also learners who are willing to learn from students.
In a social constructivist environment, students become aware of their strength and
their ability to construct reality, make decisions, and reflect their thoughts with their
experience. They become aware of the investigations that support the self-regulation
process and individual autonomy (von Glasersfeld, 1998). According to Freire (1921),
constructivist teaching develops people's critical insight as they exist in the world in
which they find themselves. They perceive the world not as a static reality, but as a
reality in transformation in the process.
In a social constructivist environment, instead of using specific targets for teaching, it
focuses on the needs, prior knowledge, and interests of the students (Pepin, 1998;
Ravitz, Becker & Wong, 2000; Vygotsky, 1978). Social constructivists are not only
aware of the differences of students and the need to use different teaching strategies
but also why specific teaching strategies must be used before, during, and after the
learning process (Brooks & Brooks, 1999; Loughran & Russel, 1997). In other words,
instructors with social constructivist beliefs focus on different learning needs and
interests of students and help students develop sophisticated mind habits

260
(Bauersfeld, 1998; Dewey, 1916; Noble & Smith, 1994; Ravitz, Becker & Wong, 2000;
Vygotsky, 1978).
In the social constructivist learning environment, students actively participate in the
learning process as an essential part of the context (Desautels, Garrison & Fleury,
1998; Oxford, 1997). The instructor believes that students bring some experience to
university and can motivate them to learn what might be different from what the
curriculum wants to teach (Pepin, 1998). Besides, social constructivist instructors
believe that the information given to students should be processed mentally, and
students should be active in this process (Brooks & Brooks, 1999).
In sum, the underlying assumptions of the social constructivist approach, which puts
the individual as the natural recipient, interpreter, and constructor of knowledge, are
as follows:

1. The learner should be active.

2. Each individual should be responsible for his/her own learning.
3. A knowledge is gained from an experience. Learning is a personal
interpretation of an individual's experience.
4. The learning is a dynamic process that is based on experience.
5. The learning environment should be organized realistically and should not be
structured as a separate activity.
6. The learning emerges from interactions, sharing perspectives, and changes in
internal interpretations.
7. A knowledge and meaning are produced in the culture, through language and
interaction.
8. The learning can be evaluated in connection with performance.
9. The learning process experienced by a student is more important than the
behavioral outcomes.
10. The role of the teacher changes to become a guide, a helper, or a guide
facilitating students' learning.
11. The teacher prepares the learning environment and facilitates the detection
process of knowledge.

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 12. The students' prior knowledge affects the learning.
13. The social interaction plays a critical role in the learning.
14. Intrinsic motivation is essential in learning.
15. The learning occurs in a social context.
16. The language, the culture, and the context are indispensable in the process of
making meaning. The meaning is created through language in the culture and
the context.
17. Primary data sources are often used in learning.
18. The learning environment is based on real-life problems, big questions, or
themes.

SOME EXAMPLES FOR INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL

The instructors should use a variety of methods in the classroom and include more
contemporary teaching strategies. Methods suitable for social constructivism can be
as follows:

1. Problem-based learning
2. Project-based learning
3. Cooperative learning
4. Case study
5. Disputation

The learning environment is guided by the teacher that plays the role of a facilitator.
• WHAT: An instructor should develop a learning environment that relates to
and reflects his/her students' social, cultural, and linguistic experience. The
instructor acts as a guide, a mediator, a consultant for students, and helps to
relate culture-based information to students' classroom learning experiences
effectively.
• WHY: Meaning is created only when it is based on the active participation of
students and their previous experience. The instructor should takes into a
consideration students’ prior learning in order to develop their cultural

262
 backgrounds, knowledge, and skills. In this way, transferring what is learned
at school into real-life situations is facilitated.
• HOW: The instructor creates a learning environment or context to link
students’ previous experiences and issues to be gained through topics, themes,
or questions.

Problem Based Learning

Problem-based learning is an example of a social constructivism approach. This
learning approach uses real-life problems to stimulate student learning rather than
direct teaching techniques. It initially appeared as a reaction to traditional teaching
since it was not successful in raising medical school students for clinical situations
(Hung, Jonassen, & Liu, 2008).
The problem based learning was initially considered by Barrows and Tamblyn for
the medical school program at the McMaster University in Canada (Barrows, 1996).
They believed that learning in small teams by working on clinical cases could
provide a more relevant and motivating experience for the students. Unlike
traditional education at medical school, this method encouraged learning by letting
medical students appreciate the application of what they were learning by engaging
them in real-life applications. In other words, problem-based learning embeds
learning experiences in real-world medical problems, rather than studying subject
knowledge first and practice context-free questions. Problem Based Learning has
been used widely in the European countries, the USA, Australia, and Asia after this
first attempt (Bligh, 1995).
Although it was first used as a very effective way at medical schools, eventually, it
has been using in many disciplines such as health sciences, engineering, business,
dentistry, social work, management, architecture and also in K-12 education.
Generally, in the problem-based learning environment, the content was covered by
problem-solving. Problem-based learning evokes other desired skills and
competencies as well. For instance, besides sound content knowledge acquisition and
problem-solving skills, collaboration and communication, and critical thinking

263
skills are also emphasized (Duch, Groh, & Allen, 2001). With this point of view,
problem-based learning is considered to be a social constructivist method.
Researchers relate problem-based learning and social constructivism with connection
points (Hung, 2011; Yew and Schmidt, 2011). In problem-based learning
environments, students are encouraged to work as a group. In this working group
environment, they face a real problem. Their previous knowledge is stimulated
through discussion within the team, so that collaboration and communication are
promoted. Related to their problem, students create a model that describes the
problem. Then they work individually to find a possible solution to the problem.
Again they come together as a group and discuss different solutions in their group.
Finally, they construct reasonable suggestions for the solution process of the problem
altogether. Consequently, they construct a shared and collective meaning together.
In this learning approach, the instructor facilitates the students in problem-based
learning journey. The main role of the teacher is to help the students throughout
scaffolding, which personalized to each student and group. Therefore, rather than
feeding with the knowledge, the role of the instructor is being a guide and a
facilitator. This emphasizes the importance of indispensable mechanisms of
problem-based learning: feedback and reflection.
Duch, Groh, and Allen (2001) summarized the common properties of a decent
problem case while it changes among fields according to the attributes of the
discipline. These can be listed as follows:

 If the problem case is designed for a multileveled study, the opening stage
should be flexible and motivating for the students.
 The problem should be strongly connected with content objectives and also
in accordance with prerequisite knowledge.
 The problem should involve making logical conclusions and decisions and
justifying them.
 The problem cases should be designed to encourage students to search for a
sound comprehension of concepts.

264
  The problem should entail various levels of complexity to guarantee that the
students with individual differences could cooperate to solve it.

Problem-based learning can be adapted to many learning fields with a slight

adaption and inspiration. More over, it can be applied to many learning
environments such as labs, classrooms, hospitals, and design classes. Duch et al.,
(2001) propose a variety of guidelines for practical usage of problem-based learning:

 Begin with a core principle, rule, formula, idea, concept, etc. Then imagine a
particular end-of-chapter task such as a problem or assignment. The end-of-
chapter task refers to a task usually given to students at the end of the specific
unit, chapter, term etc. to evaluate what they learn. Make a list of expectations
that students should get during this learning process.
 Create an original context related to the subject. Several sources can be used
for the context, such as textbooks, reports, magazines, booklets, books,
newspapers, social media, radio podcasts, television, etc. These sources can be
used as actual cases, or little editing can be utilized so that a real-life case
related to the end-of-chapter problem was constructed.
 Get acquainted with the problem so that you are able to recognize that
working on this problem will bring the aimed ideas, principles, etc.
 Prepare instruction guidelines describing the plans in which instructional
techniques of the process are determined.
 Determine the crucial sources and facilities for students. Although students
should found and effectively use learning resources by themselves, the
instructor can specify few decent resources to give students examples.

An adequately designed problem-based learning environment provides the

following benefits:
 Problem-based learning is a profitable way to improve content knowledge by
utilizing the direct application of the course content to real-life situations.
During this process, researching and information literacy can be enhanced.
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  As it is a student-centered approach, active learning, and thereby meaningful
comprehension can occur. This also supports the retention of learning.
 Problem-based learning encourages working in a team so that it supports
students to develop collaboration and communication skills.
 Students need to work individually to find a possible solution to the problem
after they are introduced to the challenge and later discuss the issue within
their groups. In essence, this individual part of the problem-based learning
approach fosters self-directed learning and independent learning skills.
 Problem-based learning motivates students to create a model for the desired
expectations, so students are asked to make deduction, which supports
critical thinking and problem-solving skills (Wood, 2003; Barret, 2010;
Nilson, 2010).

Project-Based Learning
Similar to problem-based learning, project-based learning is another example of
social constructivism approach. The primary aim of this method is to engage
students in genuine experience. Students track knowledge related to their interest
and curiosity. Project-based learning is a student-driven approach that encourages
students to solve the problems they may encounter in their lives in a classroom
environment by connecting with different project. This point reveals the difference
between this approach and problem-based learning. In this approach, learners find
out problems during their work on a project, problem-based learning design learning
activities by providing particular issues. As it improves students’ problem-solving
skills, it helps to achieve objectives at the level of application, analysis, and synthesis.
The general characteristics of project-based learnings are as follows:

 In project-based learning, and interdisciplinary problem or scenario is

studied.
 It is a method carried out intending to provide skills suitable for real life.
 Although the presentation of a product is desired, the important thing is the
process of the project.
266
  The teacher is in the role of a guide.
 There is a pragmatic, progressive understanding (Krajcik, and Blumenfeld,
2006; Markham, 2011).

Project-based learning relates to John Dewey’s learning by doing approach. In

comparison with an instructor-centered instruction, the project-based learning is
student-driven. This methods takes students into the center and engage them with
authentic projects. The instructor takes a role of a facilitator, he/she designs a
worthwhile task, plans a decent project based on ideas meaningful to the students,
and helps to enhance students’ knowledge, and supports their social skills
developments.
Project-based learning is also connected with a “situated learning” perspective,
which is founded by Lave and Wenger (1991), who considered learning to be
influenced by natural world. Similar to Lave and Wenger's ideas, learning is an
integral part of authentic experience, and it is not isolated from a social practice.

Table 1: Main action steps in project-based learning

STEP ACTION
1 Setting goals
2 Identifying the problem to be addressed or identifying the work to be
done
3 Determination of hypothesis and presentation type of the final report
4 Determining the evaluation criteria and proficiency levels
5 Creating teams
6 Determining sub-questions
7 Planning the data and information collection process
8 Creating the time table and work schedule
9 Collecting information
10 Organizing and reporting data
12 Presentation of the project
Source: Moursund, 1999

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During project-based learning students train self-regulation, critical thinking and ICT
skills and a variety of concrete skills such as managing a meeting, preparing a
budget, goal setting, decision making, problem-solving, time management, positive
attitudes towards the subject and positive belief related to the subject. Other
advantages of project-based learning can be summarized as follows:

 It enables participation in group-based and collaborative learning activities.

 It improves students’ learning skills.
 It provides life-long learning.
 It suggests several ways for students’ participation.
 It allows the use of different dimensions of intelligence (interpersonal,
kinesthetic, spatial, logical-mathematical, verbal, etc.).
 It strengthens problem-solving skills and problem-based learning skills.
 It creates an opportunity to apply new knowledge and skills gained through
the project on different topics (Erdem, 2002; Hamurcu, 2000, Krajcik, and
Blumenfeld, 2006; Markham, 2011).

Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning is another social constructivist approach that organizes
students from different academic and skill levels, gender, race, etc., with a common
purpose and makes them work in small groups during the learning process. The
main characteristics is working in groups to achieve goals together with the group
members. In reality, the learners work in small groups, helping each other to learn
and trying to maximize their learning (Açıkgöz, 1992; Johnson & Johnson, 1989).
With this social constructivist perspective, the principle is the group succeeds if
everyone succeeds. Therefore, the group members cannot race with each other; they
need to learn cooperatively and help each and benefit from each other's' ideas,
assistance, resources, abilities. The typical characteristic are sharing and working
supportively together. The core goal is to maximize learning of the whole group and
its group members.

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In a cooperative learning, the atmosphere is not as competitive as in traditional
teaching. Furthermore, one of the essential effects of cooperative learning is not only
academic achievement like in traditional education. Many other achievements
besides academic ones are quickly succeeded through cooperative learning, for
example positive attitude to learning, reading habits, working with others, self-
esteem, leadership, sharing, collaborating (Açıkgöz, 2003). Cooperative learning is
also connected with the improvement of the student satisfaction level, which
emphasizes the importance of collaborative learning.
For a successful cooperative learning experience, important components of
cooperative learning were determined, for example positive interdependence,
individual and group accountability, face-to-face promoted interaction and other
interpersonal skills (Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1994).
Regardless of the group size, there are five important components for being
successful in cooperative learning activities.

1. Positive interdependence: This is the core component of cooperative learning.

Positive interdependence can happen when group members realize that they are
interconnected with each other. With this perception, they can commit their work to
help each other. The very well-known motto of “swim or sink together” refers to this
element. When group members believe that if one fails, all fail, and on the contrary,
they can succeed when everyone succeeds, they can contribute altogether and devote
their work and energy to their group.

2. Individual and group accountability: This competence indicates that each student
and group should be responsible for attaining the group’s objectives. The group
should know about its aims clearly and monitor its improvement in achieving them.
Each group member must be responsible for common learning and show the
expertise of the subject. Separate accountability of each individual can be supported
if the grades are set to the group itself after each group member’s performance is
measured.

269
3. Face-to-face promoted interaction: Cooperative learning can take place when
group members promote each other’s success with effective communication. They
should clarify what they are learning and help each other during learning activities.
Interaction can be promoted not only to share physical capitals but also
encouragement, assistance, and support. The praise of other group members’ work is
very important.

4. Interpersonal and small group skills: In addition to academic skills, social skills
are also crucial in cooperative learning. Various personal and interpersonal skills,
including reasonable decision making, effective communication, effective leadership,
friendship-building, positive criticism, are utilized in a cooperative learning
environment. These skills help group members to act as an effective and productive
group.

5. Group processing: In the cooperative learning environment, a group processing

occurs when group members reflect on the evaluation of their achievement. They
need to describe their achievement level as well as working process. Groups are
required to evaluate what activities are cooperative and useful and what are not. This
evaluation helps to plan the next working steps.

The benefits of cooperative learning, according to literature, can be summarized as

(Johnson, Johnson, 1989; Slavin, 1996):

 It creates a chance to participate different and diverse groups of members

(gender, nationality, level of education…).
 It enhances empathy and perceptions of others.
 It supports self-concept and self-esteem.
 It builds positive interactions among learners.
 it maximizes the possibility of finding of creative explanations and innovative
ideas.

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  It encourages friendship, positive attitude, motivation, beliefs towards a
subject.
 It increases the attendance rate.

Case Study as a Teaching Method

A case study as a teaching method uses real-life scenarios, including a problem(s) or
target issue. In literature, the case study is called differently, such as case-based
teaching, case-based learning, case-based approach, or case-based instruction. Case-
based instruction is not a new method, it has been used at the Harvard Law School
since 1870. However, after 50 years it was applied to the business schools and later it
has become widespread in other professional fields (Grevetta, Beerb, Odendaal-
Kroonb and Mersethc, 2017).
In case-based instruction, students have a chance to construct their knowledge by
describing, analyzing, and solving complex real-life problems collaboratively. The
role of instructor is a facilitator of the process of the students’ knowledge
construction. The well-designed case-based instruction provides students with
opportunities to see theory-practice relationship, it increases students’ practical
knowledge through reflection, it develops their higher-order thinking skills such as
critical thinking, problem-solving, decision making and collaboration skills (Bi,
Zhao, Yang, and Wang, 2019; Grevetta, Beerb, Odendaal-Kroonb and Mersethc, 2017;
Herreid, 2007).
Some rules for a good case study are:

 The teacher has to tell an exciting story at the beginning, middle or at the end
that relates to the students’ experiences.
 The case study has to be real. It must be related to real-life events, real-life
problems, and actual work conditions, and real people.
 The teacher has to focus on exciting and educationally valuable issues. He/she
has to explain the instructions very precisely when selecting the cases.
 It should develop students’ empathy skills through their imagination
themselves to be in the position of some person in the case study. Having

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 empathy helps to build better human relationships, to become a better team
player, to look at case from a different perspective.
 The case study has to include quotations from the story characters (persons).
The quotes make the story more realistic and make it easier for students to
empathize.
 It has to bring a challenge to students. Thus, students need to think and
analyze the event more deeply.
 The teacher has to force students to decide. Case should provide students with
a dilemma in the relevant field, enabling them to confront situations that they
have never encountered before.
 The case study should have an element of generality rather than individual or
local curiosity, so that students can transfer what they gained from the
discussion of cases to different problems.
 The case study has to be long enough to explain the problem situation and
short enough not to distract students.
 The case study has to be sophisticated and interdisciplinary as much as
possible.
 The case study has to be goal-oriented (Herreid, 2007; Tian, 2017).

Teachers who want to use case-based instruction in their courses can find well cases
from novels, films, television programs, scientific articles, and newspapers or
magazines. For example, Jurassic Park can be used as a case for discussing scientific
ethics and DNA technology (Herreid, 2007).

Teachers are recommended to use case studies which are related to their course
objectives. The main steps for writing of the effective case study are:

 decide a topic,
 decide all possible principles,
 decide possible characters,
 write a draft,
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  decide which terms and concepts are introduced in the case,
 decide major and minor topics that will arise in a discussion of the case,
 write discussion questions for each section (Herreid, 2007).

There are excellent examples of the case studies on these websites:

http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/
http://www.conservationbridge.org/case-studies/
https://www.aacu.org/stirs/casestudies
https://naturalhistory.si.edu/research/anthropology

Successfulness of the case-based instruction depends on thoroughness of its

preparation. For example, teacher should prepare for particular lesson by examining
questions and reviewing the case. Discussions should always start with open-ended
questions. The debate will be more effective if everyone understands the case clearly.
It means that the teacher should be aware of students’ understanding of the case
problem. All discussions should be summarized and listed on the blackboard. For
productive debate, students should know each other in order to create a secure
discussion environment (Herreid, 2007).

Cognitive Apprenticeship
The cognitive apprenticeship instructional model got an inspiration from
traditional apprenticeship. Apprenticeship is an old method, it mostly helps to learn
some activity or process at work quickly. In the workplace, new apprentice observes
the master for a while, the master shows doing processes for different tasks. Then the
apprentice gets support from a master for creating outputs. The master slowly
removes his/her support so that the apprentice can do the tasks of the job
independently. Then the master oversees the apprentice (Collins, Brown, and
Holum, 1991; Collins, 2006).
Significant differences of the cognitive apprenticeship from traditional one is that:

273
  The tasks in the cognitive apprenticeship are more complex than in the
traditional one. Students do not only learn the automatic steps within some
process in order to accomplish the task, but they also need to use cognitive
and metacognitive strategies as an expert does. So, one of the teacher’s
responsibilities is to make students’ thinking more visible and offer them
unstructured problem situations.
 In the traditional model, the task determines the job, but in the cognitive
apprenticeship, students' learning is determined by learning objectives.
 The apprentice only observes the jobs in the traditional model. However,
students need to discuss, articulate and reflect the process and tasks. To make
a discussion, teachers should be prepared for real-life examples and problems.
 In the traditional model, all things are related to job tasks, but the cognitive
apprenticeship motivates students to transfer tasks into their different learning
situations (Collins, Brown, and Holum, 1991).

Table 2 shows the cognitive apprenticeship model developed by Collins, Brown, and
Holum. A productive cognitive learning environment should consist of four
dimensions that are content, method, sequencing, and sociology. The “Content”
refers to the knowledge bases to be an expert. Domain knowledge (concepts, facts,
and procedure), heuristic strategies, control strategies, and learning strategies came
from metacognitive awareness of the experiences.

Table 2: Principles for Designing Cognitive Apprenticeship Environments

CONTENT Types of knowledge required for expertise

Domain knowledge Subject matter specific concepts, facts, and procedures
Heuristic strategies Generally applicable techniques for accomplishing tasks
Control strategies General approaches for directing one’s solution process
Learning strategies Knowledge on how to learn new concepts, facts, and
procedures

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METHOD Ways to promote the development of expertise

Modeling Teacher performs a task so students can observe

Coaching Teacher observes and facilitates while students perform a
task
Scaffolding Teacher provides supports to help the students to perform a
task
Articulation Teacher encourages students to verbalize their knowledge
and thinking
Reflection Teacher enables students to compare their performance with
others
Exploration
Teacher invites students to pose and solve their own
problems

SEQUENCING Keys to ordering learning activities

Global before local To focus on conceptualizing the whole task before executing
skills the parts
Increasing To focus on meaningful tasks gradually increasing in
complexity difficulty
Increasing diversity To practice in a variety of situations to emphasize broad

application

SOCIOLOGY Social characteristics of learning environments

Situated learning Students learn in the context of working on realistic tasks
Community of Students discuss different ways to accomplish meaningful
practice tasks
Intrinsic motivation Students set personal goals to seek skills and solutions
Cooperation Students work together to accomplish their goals
Source: Collins, Brown, and Holum (1991, p. 14-15)

The “Method” describes sub-methods that should be used - modeling, coaching,

and scaffolding are related to teachers (instructors) who help students to gain the
necessary skills by observation, supporting, and guiding. Articulation and
reflection methods are used by students, which will increase their awareness of their
275
thinking. The latter approach – exploration will help students to gain autonomy
(Collins, 2006).
Third dimension “Sequencing” refers to master a subject by increasing the
complexity of the task. “Global before local skills” sequence relates to general rule
that the whole is different from its parts. If we want to master anything, first, we
need to see the whole object - it makes it easy to understand how the objects is
created and how the concrete part affects both the whole objects and the other parts.
To be an expert, a more significant number of skills can be accomplished. So, for a
productive cognitive apprenticeship learning environment, instructors need to
observe students and increase the complexity of the problems or tasks. Moreover, in
this model, increasing diversity is very important to transfer knowledge and skills to
any other different situation.
Four and last dimension is to the “Sociology of learning environment”. In a
productive cognitive apprenticeship environment, students’ knowledge and skills
depend on the context of a specific task that students can relate what and why they
are learning to real-life problems. As a result, students can understand the
community of the practice. In additıon, for productive learning environments,
teachers (instructors) should encourage students to work cooperatively and help
students set their learning goals.

Anchored Instruction
Anchored instruction as technology-based learning was developed by the Cognition
and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTGV) under the leadership of the educational
scientists J. D. Bransford.
Nowadays, one of the essential problems experienced at all the education levels
(including the university), is that unfortunately, students do not often understand
why they have learned any information at school and therefore they have difficulties
in using it in real life. To eliminate this problem, anchored instruction has designed
technology-based teaching based on situated learning and cognitive flexibility
learning models.

276
Briefly, cognitive flexibility is the ability to adapt the behavior of the person to the
new environment while performing complex tasks or solving problems based on
previous experience and cognitive strategies. Situated learning or cognition implies
that any knowledge is constructed by the shared experience in social and cultural
condition so that learning is context-based (Kumar, 1995). Both teaching approaches
emphasize the importance of creating authentic learning environment by the nature
of social constructivism.
However, it is not always possible to create a real, an authentic, and a complex
learning environment in classrooms. To use the possibilities of anchored instruction
methods, students can be brought to complex issues that can be encountered in real
life by watching video sequences containing mostly complex and structured
problems. As Love (2004, p. 803) expressed, there are seven fundamental principles
of development and implementation of the anchor instruction:

1. Choosing an appropriate anchor: Before selecting a suitable anchor,

educational goals have to be reviewed, and the anchor should be chosen in
accordance with the curriculum.
2. Developing shared expertise around the anchor: The discussion of the anchor
presented in the group should increase the students’ awareness of the
complexity of the information from different perspectives, and the videos
should make it easier for the students to understand the problems better and
organize the information.
3. Expanding the anchor: It is essential to compare events or problems with
different videos to contribute to learning objectives. It makes it easier for
students to transfer their skills and knowledge acquired from these activities
into other fields.
4. Using knowledge as a tool: Knowledge has a meaning in a related context.
Subject area concepts, knowledge, and facts learned within a context are easily
transferred into other settings through anchored instruction. According to
CTGV (1993), different types of transfer are possible; transfer to new
analogous problems, transfer to partially analogous problems, transfer to

277
 "what if" perturbations of the original problems, transfer outside the
classroom context, transfer as efficient learning (p. 60-61).
5. Teaching with anchor: Teachers should enable students to link the objectives
of the course with video-related information.
6. Merging the anchor: The video anchor should link to literacy-related activities
like reading and writing so that students can participate more actively in the
learning environment.
7. Allowing student exploration: Sharing videos by students with each other
should make it easier for them to think as an expert.
Examples on anchored instructions can be found on the links below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO5q2FdV-wk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tXLArBc6ao
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO0LhQavXDY
https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/effective-educational-videos/

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21st Century Skils: Changing the Approach to Teaching in Higher Education - 2019-1-TR01-KA203-074482
Funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union. However, European Commission and Turkish
National Agency cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained
therein.
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 PROFILE OF THE AUTHORS
The authors are listed in accordance with the order of modules.

İrem Özgören Kinli

Asst. Prof. Dr. Kinli worked as a full-time lecturer (2006-2016) at the Department of
Media and Communication of the Izmir University of Economics where she taught
theoretical and practical, compulsory, and elective media courses in English. She has
been working as a full-time lecturer at the Department of Political Science of the
Izmir Katip Celebi University since March 2016. She obtained a B.A. degree at the
Francophone Department of Political and Administrative Sciences of the Marmara
University (2001), M.A. degree in the international relations at the Ege University,
(2004), M.A. degree in the political sociology at the Paris I- Panthéon Sorbonne
University (2005) and Ph.D degree in the political science at the Paris I- Panthéon
Sorbonne University (2011).

Erdinc Duru
He has been working as the Professor since 2004 at the Pamukkale University. He
received a BSc, MSc, and Ph.D. degree in counseling psychology at the Dokuz Eylul
University in Turkey and a post-doctorate degree in counseling psychology from
Penn State University in the USA. His background includes working with
adolescents and college students and dealing with issues primarily related to
academic achievement, self-regulation, procrastination, higher-order micro and
macro thinking skills, academic adjustment, school belongingness, and well-being.
His research involves mostly adolescents and college students' psychosocial and
academic adjustment processes, with cross-cultural competency being an additional
research interest. Dr. Duru teaches theories of teaching and learning, educational
psychology, counseling theories, life span development, qualitative and quantitative
research methods, and multicultural competency. The Pamukkale University
awarded him a Science Excellence Award in 2017 and the Citation Award in 2016.
Dr. Duru has more than 100 scientific publications and over 2000 citations.

283
Asuman Duatepe-Paksu
Prof. Dr. Duatepe-Paksu [Ph.D. in secondary school mathematics and science
education at the Middle East Technical University (METU)] is the department head
of the Pamukkale University Mathematics and Science Education. She taught a
variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in mathematics education for 21
years. She conducted educational quantitative and qualitative research and
supervised and monitored Ph.D. dissertations and master theses in the field of
mathematics education. She co-authored Grade 4 and Grade 5 mathematics
textbooks, teacher books, and activity books approved by the Ministry of Education
and used nationwide in Turkey. She is a board member of Pamukkale University
Children and Youth Education Application and Research.

Murat Balkis
He has been working as the Professor at the Pamukkale University since 2003. He
received a BSc, MSc, and Ph.D. degree in counseling psychology at the Dokuz Eylul
University in Turkey. His background includes working with adolescents and
college students and dealing with issues primarily related to academic achievement,
self-regulation, procrastination, motivation, and cognitive behavior therapy. His
research involves mostly adolescents and college students' psychosocial and
academic adjustment processes, with cross-cultural competency being an additional
research interest. Dr. Balkis teaches personality theories, educational psychology,
development and learning, counseling theories, and abnormal psychology. The
Pamukkale University awarded him a Science Excellence Award in 2018 and the
publication performance Award in 2013.

Sibel Duru
She has been working as an Associate Professor since 2007 at the Pamukkale
University. She received a BSc. degree at the Guidance and Psychological Counseling
Department of the Nine September University. She got an experience as an
elementary teacher at the Ministry of National Education with first and second
graders and guidance at K-12 school for two years. This experience was important
284
for her to understand educational theory-practice relationships and the problems in
Turkish education. She completed M.Ed. degree at the University of Missouri and
Ph.D. degree at the Curriculum and Instruction Department of the Indiana
University in the USA. She has been working at the Pamukkale University since
2007. Her research interests are constructivism in education, teacher beliefs, and
elementary education. Nowadays, she is focused on the computational thinking and
the critical thinking skills.

Lucilla Crosta
Her first experience in higher education was thanks to position of a tutor in a
blended online learning in 2004. Then she worked in the adult e-learning sector in
the EU funded projects for several years. She gained her Ph.D. degree in educational
research at the University of Lancaster in 2009. She worked as an adult trainer in a
blended modality for different institutions and as post-graduate students’ supervisor
at the Swiss Management Center. She has been working as a Honorary Recognized
Lecturer for Laureate since 2012. She is also an EdD Thesis Supervisor at the
University of Liverpool. She took part in several research groups working on online
doctoral supervisions, online learning team aimed at the use of artificial intelligence
in Higher Education. In the most recent years she focusses on entrepreneurial skills
and she created Edulai software helping adult workers and learners to assess and
develop their soft skills.

Valentina Banda
She has been working at the Smarthink (Italy) since 2018 as a Marketing &
Communication Specialist. She has got a Bachelor’s Degree in foreign languages and
she is currently attending a MSc. programme in economics with a focus on
marketing. She was first involved in the education sector when she started
supporting students during their learning journey. Her interests include social media
platforms and the use of new technologies.

285
Jiřina Sněhotová
She has graduated in psychology at the Faculty of Arts of the Charles University in
Prague (the Czech Republic). Actually, she is an teacher of psychology and
educational diagnostics at the Institute of Education and Communication of the
Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. She is completing Ph.D. degree in
psychology of work and organisation. She obtained 15 years of experience in
personnel psychology and education and her portfolio includes management
consulting, psychological coaching, soft skills training, group facilitation,
psychological testing, employee surveys and various psychometric analysis.

Kamila Urban
She is a senior assistant at Institute of Education and Communication of the CZU
Prague, and a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Research in Social
Communication, Slovak Academy of Sciences. Her current themes of research are
fostering metacognition from preschool age, self-regulated learning and motivation
in education. Her main teaching activities are devoted to developmental and
educational psychology. She is a member of several research projects (VEGA, APVV,
TA CR). She received a research grant from SAIA and also The Fulbright research
grant. She was a visiting researcher at the Center for Cognition, Learning and
Memory at the University of Bern, Switzerland and at the Department of Teacher
Education and Learning Sciences of The University of North Carolina (USA).

Jiří Votava
A senior assistant of the Institute of Education and Communication graduated in
pedagogy and hold a Ph.D. degree in social pedagogy. He has experience with
teacher training and educational research on innovations. In the research, he focusses
on cooperative learning, problem solving methods in education, critical pedagogy
and social pedagogy. He has got a broad experience in teaching international
students, he accomplished several lessons on European Modules in the previous
EMMA and ACROSS EU project and he trained secondary school teachers within

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PRO-SCHOOL and PROSOLVA EU project (all project were lead within centralised
Comenius programme).

Mehmet Emin Bakay

Dr. Bakay is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Business Administration and
Management of the Izmir Katip Çelebi University. His expertise is educational
management and project management. He teaches courses on project management
and scientific research methods in BSc. and Ph.D. study programmes. He is the
coordinator of the CATCH 21st Century Skills project. He has been implementing a
variety of EU projects for 15 years. He has developed several publications on
educational sciences.

Şaban Çelik
Dr. Şaban Çelik is an Associate Professor of Finance at the Department of Business
Administration of the Izmir Katip Çelebi University. Dr. Çelik has published several
articles published in international peer-reviewed journals and given many
conferences on different topics in finance. His primary research interests are
corporate finance, international finance, portfolio management in general and asset
pricing, bankruptcy prediction, corporate governance and intellectual capital in
particular. He has a consulting responsibility for developing R&D projects for SMEs
and improving firm capabilities in the market. Firm valuation, asset management,
real estate valuation, human capital management, corporate restructuring belong to
his expertise. Dr. Çelik also acts as a head of the Erasmus Office at the Izmir Katip
Çelebi University and is responsible for Erasmus+ projects management. The current
topics of ongoing Erasmus projects are focused on creativity, innovation, higher
education, and health tourism.

Tolga Senturk
Dr. Tolga Senturk is an academician at the Media and Communication Department
of the İzmir Katip Celebi Univesity (IKCU). He is specialised in the international
marketing and sales management. He is also a manager of the Continuing Education
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Centre of the IKCU. He coordinated several projects on youth’s Professional
education and employment within that organization. He has experiences in EU,
Youth, and Sports Ministry and Development Agency projects.

Maria Luisa Sierra Huedo

She obtained a Ph.D. degree in international higher education at the University of
Minnesota, Minneapolis (USA). She holds a Master of Arts in Comparative
International Development Education from the University of Minnesota (USA) and
Degree in English linguistics from the Zaragoza University (Spain). She is a professor
of intercultural communication, research in social sciences, educational processes
and contexts at the School of Communication and Social Sciences of the San Jorge
University (Spain). She is member of the research group “Migrations,
Interculturalism and Human Development” (MIDH) at the San Jorge University and
a member of different national and international research projects such as:
MEDCHANGE (FP7, sub-programme Marie Curie), LIFE and SINO project
(Erasmus+). At the national level, she got experience in a research project “Migration
and Integration Policies as well as Human Rights Defenders from a University
Perspective”, financed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Fundacion de
Cajas de Ahorros (FUNCAS). She obtained an experience in international education
and development management in South East Asia and Central America.

Cayetano Fernandez Romero

He holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Navarra, Pamplona, his position is
a professor of history of political thought and civic humanism, and academic
coordinator at the Institute of Humanism and Society of the San Jorge University
(Zaragoza). He is a member of the MIDH research group. He has participated in
conferences and published several works related to family, migration, and university
teaching innovation in European Higher Education related to Integrated Learning
Content and Language (CLIL). He has experience in international and national
research projects such as MEDCHANGE (FP7, sub-programme Marie Curie), LIFE
and SEIC project (Erasmus+). At a national level, he has experience in a research
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project “Migration and Integration Policies as well as Human Rights Defenders from
a University Perspective”, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Fundacion
de Cajas de Ahorros (FUNCAS). Nowadays, his research is focused on social
movements, especially on migration in the Mediterranean area. He is a principal
investigator of the research group “Multiculturalism and Contemporary Society”. He
led five summer courses aimed at migration.

Antonio Prieto-Andres
He obtained a Ph.D. in communication at the San Jorge University (Zaragoza). He is
a professor of human rights, communication law and fundamentals of international
law. He teaches in various degree programmes on communication sciences. He
published several works (books and articles) aimed at the social and legal aspects of
immigration and at the ICT laws. He is a member of the MIDH research group. Apart
of above mentioned international research projects, he acted as an IP of the national
project “Human Rights Defenders from a University Perspective” (funded by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Enrique Uldemolins Julve

He holds a Ph.D. degree in communication at the San Jorge University (Zaragoza)
and a degree in political science and sociology at the Universidad Complutense de
Madrid. He is a Professor of sociology at the San Jorge University. He is a member of
the MIDH research group. He collaborates with the Chair of Development
Cooperation of the Zaragoza University, the Aragonese Federation of Solidarity and
the Government of Aragon. He has gained experience in development cooperation,
urban sustainability and migration for more than 30 years. He worked in the area of
an international development for the European Union and other international
organizations. He is an author of several publications on subjects of his
specialization, he has worked on planning and managing developmental projects in
the Ibero-American context.

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Pencho Mihnev
He is a senior lecturer in e-learning at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of
the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” (Bulgaria). He works in the fields of e-
learning (planning, design, development, delivery, assessment and evaluation),
technology enhanced learning, instructional design, and curriculum design. He has
more than 60 publications and participated in more than 20 R&D and innovative
projects. He obtained MSc degree in mathematics (Plovdiv University, Bulgaria),
one-year specialisation in computer science (Sofia University, Bulgaria), and MSc
degree in educational and training systems design (University of Twente, The
Netherlands). He’s career path includes teaching of Mathematics and Computer
Science, and a headmaster position at the secondary school, expert in ICT and head
of department at the Ministry of Education and Science of Bulgaria, project officer
and project manager positions at the Sofia University and in private companies,
teaching and research positions at the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.

Eliza Stefanova
She is a vice-rector at the Sofia University, works in the field of Computer Sciences,
specialised in educational technologies, digital libraries, learning analytics, virtual
reality. She has strong background in Technology Enhanced Learning and Computer
Networks, with more than 80 publications. Associated Professor Stefanova got her
expertise at the Institute of Education in the UK. She received awards for developed
e-learning courses in the field of ICT and web design. Eliza Stefanova acts as an
expert in the Creative Learning & Innovative Teaching Seminar, Joint Research
Center (JRC), in Future of Learning 2020 (European Commission), at the Institute of
Prospective Technological Study, JRC; and in Thematic Working Group in
Mathematics and Technologies, Peer Learning Activity (European Commission 2012,
2017).

Nikolina Nikolova
She is a head of the Department of Education in Mathematics and Informatics at the
Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of the Sofia University. Her professional
290
interests are focused on trends in education in mathematics and informatics as well
as in innovative technologies in education, application of digital technologies in
teaching and learning, development of computational thinking at school age,
profiled education in Computer Science and ICTs. As a researcher, Associated
Professor Nikolina Nikolova has participated in many European and national
projects related to innovations in education, especially to competence-based
approach in education (TENCompetence, Sheherazade, ELITe) as well as in EU
projects and initiatives related to Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) in STEM.

Albena Antonova
She is a Ph.D. student and lecturer at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of
the Sofia University. Her main research interests include smart services, digital
transformation, raising digital skills and competences, knowledge management,
open science and open innovations, active and inquiry-based learning, HCI and
innovative TEL models and methods. She has more than 70 publications.

Karel Němejc
The editor of this book is a Director of the Institute of Education and Communication
of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. In the research, he focuses e.g. on
evaluation in education, environmental education, teaching aids, and the effective
use of educational technologies. Each academic year he develops and coordinates a
project aimed at the quality assessment and assurance in education and study
support in bachelor, master and postgraduate study programmes. He is a member of
the Quality Assurance Board of the “Euroleague for Life Sciences”.

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CATCH 21ST CENTURY SKILLS - Teaching Materials

Publication type: Teaching materials for university students

Editorial board: Ing. Karel Němejc, Ph.D., Mehmet Emin Bakay, Ph.D.

Review: Prof. Dr. Serhat Burmaoğlu, Prof. Virginia Larraz Rada

Book cover: Ing. Barbora Jordánová

Publisher: Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Institute of Education and Communication

No of pages: 292

Issue: 200 copies

Edition: First, 2021

This publication is not for sale.

This publication was implemented within an Erasmus+ KA2 project CATCH 21st Century
Skills: Changing the Approach to Teaching in Higher Education (project No 2019-1-TR01-
KA203-074482).

ISBN 978-80-213-3076-4

© Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

© Authors of the modules

The European Commission's support for the production of this

publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents,
which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission
cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the
information contained therein.

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