Editorial

Abstract

As contemporary society becomes increasingly diverse and complex, so does the process of preparing young people for life as independent thinkers, productive citizens, and future leaders. The changing nature of students, the collegiate experience, learning, teaching, and outcomes assessment all have substantive implications for altering educational practice. There is a great deal of evidence that we can enhance learning when as teachers we pay attention to the knowledge and beliefs that our students, our learners, bring to a learning task. We band terms such as learner centred, knowledge centred, assessment centred, community centred as new models of educational reform in our classrooms. Yet we still deliver directly to students via a traditional lecture based methods. We are not dismissing these, as they do have a significant part to play in our relationship with students in the learning process. However as 21st century educators we need to consider additional enhancements to the more ‘formal’ didactic delivery. As we present lectures, seminars, practice sessions and activity based scenarios are we conscious of the focus of pedagogy, does it matter, do we reflect on the process of engagement and interaction. What of the interplay between students, tutors, parents, employers in the learning process? Is this valuable? If so at what level and how does it integrate with what we have in terms of assessment. As we weave a tangled thicket of questions relating to our engagement in the practice of learning and teaching we need to be mindful of what is happening in the wider community.

This journal provides an insight into a lively group of like minded individuals at UCLan all engaged in interacting in a variety of ways with their students. Real innovation is often driven by the passionate few, frequently developed in their own time and enthused by a real desire to make a difference to the learning of their students. This motivation is not unique, unusual or perhaps unexpected. However the real problem is in ‘mainstreaming’ this innovative practice or activity. The submissions within this journal reflect this passion and motivation and we hope that many of the papers encourage you, the reader, to take up some of the ideas, and to submit your findings to a future issue of the

UCLan Journal of Pedagogic Research.