Papers by Colette Mazzola
EDULEARN proceedings, Jul 1, 2019
The classroom can be a ponderous and complicated place and teaching staff typically use their pre... more The classroom can be a ponderous and complicated place and teaching staff typically use their previous learning experiences as an example to build their own identity and pedagogical approach. Teaching higher education is a duel between equipping students with the breadth of subject specific knowledge and building the desirable 'graduate' skills expected for the workforce of the 21st Century. These approaches should include a student-centric and reflective approach to enable students to become producers of knowledge. The autoethnographic reflective narratives are separated into silos to effectively answer the research questions. My first narrative is based upon my secondary school education from 1994 to 1999, the second narrative is based upon my return to study 10 years later in 2009, and this data will attempt to explore how my previous learning experiences affect my pedagogical practice. The final reflective accounts, span from the time I have been employed in Computing at Blackpool and the Fylde College from 2013 to the present day, in order to explore what factors motivate me to change my pedagogical practice and prepare students with 'graduate' skills for the workforce of the 21st Century. The analysis of the reflective narratives identified that a co-collaborative approach enables students to take ownership of their learning, in addition the students shared the responsibility of teaching in a ritualised community of practice.
Students are graduating with the specific technical skills to complete a job role. However, resea... more Students are graduating with the specific technical skills to complete a job role. However, research suggests there is a lack of focus on students developing self-regulated learning behaviours to prepare them for lifelong learning. The conundrum of self-regulated networked learning behaviors is perplexed and convoluted this paper brings together a wide range of literature and the collation of primary research to provide a potential solution to ensuring students firstly learn how to improve their self-regulated behaviours using reflection. In addition, the use of a technological platform clearly supported students teaching themselves and their peers, with the use of directed reflection. This study included participants that were from a level 4 cohort, learning as part of their second semester module “Scripting Fundamentals”. The module delivery was changed to incorporate a student led collaborative problem based learning approach using Microsoft Teams as a communication platform and structured reflection. Technology-enhanced learning is not a one-size-fits-all approach and needs to be contextualised to each curriculum. The results of this study indicate that students felt more confident, positive, and developed their learning exclaiming that they were building 21st century skills. Based on this research, a framework was created that includes the 5C’s - collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication and connectedness. To prosper in the 21st century, students need more than knowledge, they need the ability to collaborate, communicate and problem-solve (World Economic Forum, 2016 p.4).
WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, 2014
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a new addition to the open educational provision. They ar... more Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a new addition to the open educational provision. They are offered mainly by prestigious universities on various commercial and non-commercial MOOC platforms allowing anyone who is interested to experience the world class teaching practiced in these universities. MOOCs have attracted wide interest from around the world. However, learner demographics in MOOCs suggest that some demographic groups are underrepresented. At present MOOCs seem to be better serving the continuous professional development sector.
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Papers by Colette Mazzola