May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1
ISSN 2307-227X
International Journal of Research In Social Sciences
© 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
www.ijsk.org/ijrss
IDENTIFYING ROLES IN TOURISM EDUCATION: THE CASE OF THE
EGYPTIAN AND BRITISH TOURISM FACULTIES
Islam Elgammal
Faculty of Tourism and Hotels Management, Suez Canal University, Egypt
Email: i.elgammal@tourism.suez.edu.eg
ABSTRACT
Knowledgeable and skilled tourism labor is one of the outcomes of a good tourism educational system. Researchers
indicated that the use of active-learning strategies provides an average rate of student attention of 75%. StudentCentered Learning (SCL) is the way by which students can be involved in learning activities through the lecture time
which helps in constructing their understanding of the topic presented. In order to implement a SCL environment,
attention must be given to different aspects of the learning process.The aim of this study is to foster an exchange of
ideas between the lecturer and students, their role and responsibilities and explore its impact on achieving the
module outcomes. A constructivist approach was adopted which focuses on how the mind organizes experience, the
processes involved and how learning is subsequently constructed. Three groups of level-one Tourism students
enrolled in Research Methods at Cardiff School of Management, UK was the focus of the study. Additionally, the
activity has used three groups of Tourism students enrolled in Tourism and the Environment module in Suez Canal
University, Egypt. The paper concludes that Egyptian students have higher expectations of the role of the lecturer
than the British students, which affects the applicability of SCL in Egyptian educational environment. However,
after identifying and negotiate roles with the lecturer, Egyptian students proof a noticeable advanced towards SCL.
Consequently, the paper recommends that learning contracts proofs to have great effects on enhancing the students
learning experience.
Keywords: Students-Centered Learning (SCL), Teacher-Centered Learning (TCL), Learning contracts, Active
learning, lecturer/student role.
BACKGROUND
students might not be actively engaged with the topic,
they might not listen to the whole lecture, and their
retention of concepts is minimal (Timberlake, 2007),
also lectures has limited contribution to the
enhancement of students' practical problem solving
and critical thinking (Hannafin & Land, 1997). Yet,
the aim is to increase the students’ involvement in the
learning process (Astin, 1999)
Lectures are considered a traditional way of teaching.
Today, it is considered the preferred teaching method
used by 89% of since professors (Timberlake, 2007).
From the students' point of view, lectures are
considered a non-threatening teaching style. In the
same time, some lecturers see it as a comfortable
teaching format; "Traditionally, the teacher was seen
as the source and conveyor of knowledge... Teaching
was seen as the transmitted knowledge from teacher
to students, largely through the use of lectures (Sale,
1998 in Donohoe, 2007). There are a number of
reasons for lecturers to prefer using lectures rather
than other teaching techniques; lectures are easy to
control, and an excellent method for organizing a
course contents. However, this way of teaching has
been criticized by a number of researcher (e.g.
Hannafin and Land 1997); during the lecture, some
According to Paulson (1999), the use of ActiveLearning strategies provides an average rate of
student attention of 75%. Nanney (2004, p:1) defined
Student-Centered Learning (SCL) as "a broad
teaching approach that encompasses replacing
lectures with active learning, integrating self-paced
learning programs and/or cooperative group
situations, ultimately holding the student responsible
1
May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1
ISSN 2307-227X
International Journal of Research In Social Sciences
© 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
www.ijsk.org/ijrss
choice of the type of the technology appropriate for
the students’ culture and background. Pragmatic
foundations are mainly related to the limitations, i.e.
the fund needed, the availability of the
hardware/software required, lecturer training..etc.
The integration of these five foundations is crucial in
the success of SCL.
for his own advances in education". It can be
accomplished via encouraging students to be active
learners by being engaged with active–learning
strategies (Rositsa & John, 2004). It discourages
students to take notes quietly and being passive. SCL
is the way by which students can be involved in
learning activities through the lecture time which
helps in constructing their understanding of the topic
presented. While “not all students are naturally selfdirectly learners” (Anderson et al., 1998: 9), SCL
help students to develop their skills through promote
learning and increase the students' attention during
the lectures and facilitate critical thinking and
problem solving skills.
In order to implement a SCL environment, attention
must be given to different aspects of learning such as
the goal of the student activity, the role of the
lecturer, the role of student and assessment student
interaction. Because learning is centered to students,
lecturers should realize they are collaborators in
learning. A successful SCL should be open, dynamic
and promoting curiosity to learn. When students
collaborate in solving problems, their understanding
to themselves as well as the topics will be enhanced
(Timberlake, 2007).
In terms of assessment, one of the critical differences
between SCL and Teacher-Centered Learning (TCL)
is assessment. In SCL, students participate in the
evaluation of their learning. Additionally, they can
develop assessment methods which support learning.
Motivation could be considered the secret word for
the success of SCL. However, one of the reasons that
some lecturers resist SCL is assessment; perhaps
because they see it complicated and requires longer
time than the time required in assessing students in
TCL.
There is a strong connection between SCL and the
learning environment which based on five main
foundations
(Hannafin
and
Land,
1997);
psychological, pedagogical, technological, cultural,
and pragmatic. The psychological foundations of
learning environments are based on how individuals
learn and the way they construct their experience
which based on their learning. Elements related to the
teaching methods, problem-solving strategies and the
activities involved in the learning process are related
to the pedagogical foundation. The technologies
required to facilitate the activities in both the
psychological and the pedagogical foundations in
order to achieve the aims of the learning process are
the focus of the technological foundations. Cultural
foundations are highly important as they affect the
Table (1) highlights a comparison between instructional variables associated with TCL and SCL approaches to
teaching and learning. It provides a useful guide to the creation or evaluation of SCL environments:
Instructional Variable
Learning Outcomes
Goals and Objectives
TCL
-Discipline-specific verbal information.
-Lower order thinking skills, e.g. recall,
identify, define.
-Memorisation of abstract and isolated
facts, figures and formulas.
-Teacher prescribes learning goals and
objectives based on prior experiences,
past practices, and state and/or locally
mandated standards
2
SCL
-Interdisciplinary information and
knowledge.
-Higher order thinking skills, e.g.
problem-solving.
-Information processing skills, e.g.
access,
organise,
interpret,
communicate information
-Students works with teachers to
select learning goals and objectives
based on authentic problems and
students' prior knowledge, interests
and experience.
May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1
ISSN 2307-227X
International Journal of Research In Social Sciences
© 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
www.ijsk.org/ijrss
Instructional Strategy
-Instructional strategy prescribed by
teacher.
-Group-paced, designed for 'average'
student.
-Information organised and presented
primarily by teacher, e.g. lectures, with
some
supplemental
reading
assignments
-Teacher works with students to
determine learning strategy.
-Self-paced, designed to meet needs
of individual student.
-Student given direct access to
multiple sources of information, e.g.
books, online databases, community
members
Assessment
-Assessment used to sort students.
-Paper and pencil exams used to assess
students acquisition of information.
-Teacher sets performance criteria for
students.
-Students left to find out what teacher
wants.
Lecturer role
-Teacher organizes and presents
information to groups of students.
-Teachers act as gatekeeper of
knowledge, controlling students' access
to information.
-Teacher directs learning.
-Students expect teachers to teach them
what's required to pass the test.
-Passive recipients of information.
-Reconstructs
knowledge
and
information
-Assessment is integral part of
learning.
-Performance based, used to assess
students ability to apply knowledge.
-Students work with teachers to
define performance criteria.
-Students develop self-assessment
and peer assessment skills
-Teacher provides multiple means of
accessing information.
-Teacher acts as facilitator, helps
students
access
and
process
information.
-Teacher facilitates learning
-Students take responsibility for
learning.
-Active knowledge seekers.
-Construct knowledge and meaning.
Student role
Learning Environment
-Students sit in rows.
-Information presented via lectures,
books and films.
Table 1: Instructional variables associated with TCL
and SCL approaches
Adapted from: (Hirumi, 2007)
The above table shows that a fundamental part of the
success of SCL is that students should be clear about
their role in the university as well as the role of their
lecturer. They should understand that they are
responsible for their own learning and a lecturer only
gives them the guidance and support when needed,
and facilitate the learning environment, "I know I
can’t teach anyone any thing, I can only provide the
environment in which he can learn" (Roger, 1969).
Universities such as RMIT reported in its learning
skills unite that “Lecturers will only cover about
30%-50% of the information that you are expected to
know on any specific topic” (RMIT University,
2013).Therefore, a learning contract is considered a
fundamental aspect of the SCL. It gives the student a
clear base about what the lecturer expects them to be
-Students work at stations with
access to multiple resources.
-Students work individually at times
but also need to collaborate in small
groups
and a clear idea about what they should expect from
the lecturer.
According to McAllister (1996) and Sampson et. al.
(1996) learning contracts are agreements between a
lecturer and a learner (or occasionally a group of
learners). They normally include issues of
assessment, and provide a useful mechanism for
reassuring both parties about their role and what to
expect from each others. It is based on the principle
of the learners being active partners in the teachinglearning system, rather than passive recipients.
However, Atherton (2003) indicated that “there may
be considerable student resistance to learning
contracts: they are not part of the rules of the
educational game they are familiar with. The
common cry is, "Just tell me what to do!"”.
Nevertheless, if the contract taken seriously by the
lecturer as well as the student, contracts will be a
valuable way of recognizing the responsibility and
focus attention on how much help the student can
3
May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1
ISSN 2307-227X
International Journal of Research In Social Sciences
© 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
www.ijsk.org/ijrss
the workplace environment. Students’ response rate
was 100%.
expect from the lecturer (Lemieux, 2001). Indeed,
and according to learning contracts change the
student from being merely reactive, to being
proactive in SCL environment.
The module is based on SCL and was delivered
through a series of weekly seminars. Although there
were no formal lectures in this module, the seminars
were supported by a series of tasks and quizzes
administered via e-learning in order to maximise the
benefits from the module. On completion of the
module, students were expected to achieve a number
of outcomes such as understand the factors that
influence learning strategies and understand the
communication strategies that enable effective
communication, oral and written, at University level.
METHODOLOGY
In this research, a constructivist approach was
adopted. According to Donohoe (2007), a
constructivist approach focuses on how the mind
organizes experience, the processes involved and
how learning is subsequently constructed. This
approach has three different key assumptions; the
first assumption is that learning is an act of individual
construction, and reflects the individuality of the
learner- his/her personal experience and learning
style, and hence, students construct their experience
on their learning. The second key assumption is
concerning with the importance of active
involvement, and problem-solving in enhancing the
learning process. The last assumption is about how
learning is a whole personal activity, facilitated by
cooperative engagement, intrinsic motivation and a
psychological climate of empowerment.
The second case study was carried out on a three
groups of a total of 270 tourism students enrolled in
Tourism and the Environment Module in the Faculty
of Tourism and Hotel Management, Suez Canal
University Egypt. Students’ age ranged between 1820 years old and they were invited to participate in
the study. The module is basically designed to
provide an introduction to tourism and the different
types of environments, i.e. natural, economic, social
and cultural. The module is designed to raise
awareness of the importance of the environment in
forming the foundation of the tourism industry and
particularly in Egypt. Student’ response rate were
90% (i.e. 243 out of 270 students contributed in the
current study).
In this current qualitative study (David and Sutton,
2004), two different case studies were used; the first
was carried out in Cardiff School of Management,
UK where three groups with a total of 70 tourism
students were invited to participate in the study.
Students’ age ranged between 18-21 years old and
they were enrolled in Research Methods and
Professional development module. The module is
basically designed to provide an introduction to the
skills necessary to succeed at university level. It
further brings to students awareness of the value of
skills gained at university which are transferable to
Sample
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Total
The module is based on SCL and was delivered
through a series of weekly lectures with no formal
seminars. The module was also supported by a series
of tasks and quizzes administered via e-learning in
order to maximize the benefits from the module. All
the materials and sources of information were also
available online.
Cardiff School of Management, UK
British
Other nationalities
8
16
11
12
9
14
28
42
Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management,
Egypt
101
98
71
270
Table 2: The random student sample used in the study
Data and learning contracts collected in the two case
studies were analyzed by identifying common roles
which appears in most learning contracts and then
look at how frequent these roles have appeared to be
common among students. Data then was represented
in two tables; each table is presenting the common
lecturer/students roles and characteristics in order,
from the students’ perspectives.
Therefore, the constructivist approach along with
exploring the two case studies of Research Methods
4
May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1
ISSN 2307-227X
International Journal of Research In Social Sciences
© 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
www.ijsk.org/ijrss
and Professional Development module in the UK and
Tourism and the Environment Module in Egypt
helped in constructing reality about students' learning
and evaluate their engagement, motivation and also
encourage personal as well as group activities, and
thus facilitate the learning process, when identifying
lecturer/student roles.
CASE
STUDY
ONE:
German and Saudi Arabia. A total of two tasks were
required from the students; in the first seminar, the
focus was on the students’ awareness and expectation
of the lecturer/their role at the university level.
Students were asked to be divided into small groups
and write their expectation about both their role and
the lecturer role. Additionally, they were asked to
write about the most interesting methods of teaching
they prefer to be taught by. The result of this process
was called "a learning contract", a contract between
the students and their lecturer. Students were asked to
take their role seriously and to be responsible about
what is written in their contract, on the other hand,
they were promised that the lecturer will be
committed to his role. The outcome of the
expectation survey is presented in table (3):
CARDIFF
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
Students, enrolled in Research Methods and
Professional Development Module, were diverse
groups; a mix between British students and
International students, particularly from India, China,
The role of lecturer
Freq.
%
The role of student
Freq.
%
Give clear instructions
62
88.6
Attend
65
92.9
Motivate the students
55
78.6
Accomplish tasks
57
81.4
Deliver key information
46
65.7
Hand in work on time
48
68.6
Make lectures interesting
40
57.1
Participate
45
64.3
Guide and assist
35
50
Read around the topic
39
55.7
Deliver quality presentations
32
45.8
Improve his/her skills
34
48.6
Characteristics of the lecturer
Characteristics of the student
Respectable
64
91.4
Punctual
57
81.4
Knowledgeable
43
61.4
Respectable
54
77.1
In control
41
58.6
Polite
49
70
Available to students
37
52.9
Reliable
38
54.3
Reliable and fair
34
48.6
Approachable
22
31.4
Table 3: The role and characteristics of lecturer/student in the university, Research method and Professional
Development Module.
his students and delivering quality presentations
(45.8%).
In terms on lecturer characteristics, 91.4% of students
indicate that respect is the most important feature of a
lecturer. Having knowledge (61.4) and ability to
control the classroom (58.6%), particularly with big
groups, were more important than him/her being
available to students(52.9%) fair and reliable(58.6%).
Table 3 shows that 78.6% of the students think that
the main role of the lecturer is to give clear
instructions related to tasks required, quizzes and
exams. The results also show that motivating
students and delivering quality information are more
important than making lectures interesting. 50% of
students indicate that lecturer should guide and assist
5
May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1
ISSN 2307-227X
International Journal of Research In Social Sciences
© 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
www.ijsk.org/ijrss
presentation tasks among group members. This task
was undertaken in two sessions; in the first session,
the basics of giving a presentation and the key tips of
a successful presentation were highlighted. Students
were divided into small groups and agreed on their
plan for the next session in which they will be
required present their topic in front of the class. The
students were totally responsible about the quality
information they will present. The interesting part
was that they were asked to assess themselves and
their colleagues. Each group was given the
assessment criteria which mainly based on the
presentation planning, the quality of information,
using slides effectively, self-confidence of the
presenter, eye contact with the audience and
considering the time limit. The total mark of the
presentation was five marks; therefore each group
requested to assessed and give feedback to the group
presenter by giving a mark out of five. In the second
session, the students surprisingly prepared quality
presentations and performance was generally good.
After each presentation, students were given enough
time to assess and reflect on their performance.
Students were quite engaged in the session, enjoyed
peer assessment and learned many techniques about
presentation skills. There were a variety of interesting
topics which encouraged them to be active, ask
questions and provide feedback. At the end of the
session, students agreed on the best presentation and
gave it the full mark; moreover, students
enthusiastically were discussing feedbacks with their
colleagues from other backgrounds. The two sessions
had much help in achieving the second aim of the
module which isunderstanding the communication
strategies that facilitate effective communication, oral
and written.
Students generally expressed their enjoyment of this
module and they emphasized that being clear about
their role and the lecturer role helped in moving
forward and achieving their aims especially in their
first year in the university. Additionally, this paper
proofs that an expectation session has a great effect in
breaking ice and enhance the relationship between a
lecturer and their students. Therefore, an expectation
survey is strongly recommended in the first session of
teaching.
Moreover, the presentations session had a great value
in terms of the students’ understanding of
presentation techniques. Their feedback showed that
they enjoyed the session and learned from their
mistakes. What made the session unforgettable was
that they used peer assessment as well as selfassessment in identifying each presentation’s strength
and weaknesses. Indeed, using the learning contract
Table 2 also shows that students were aware of their
role in the university but it became clearer in their
minds when they were requested to identify it as
discussed in the constructivist approach. 92.2% of
students agreed that attendance is crucial for
improving the skills related to the topics studied.
They emphasized that commitments, participations
and submitting course work on time are their own
responsibilities. All students set their aims in relation
to this module during the same session which helped
in monitoring their achievements eventually.
After identifying and discussing the role of the
lecturer with students, particularly in relation to
introducing topics, delivering quality information,
facilitating students’ learning, guiding by using
useful and updated sources of information and being
available to students when much help is needed, it
was agreed that the module is based on SCL and
teaching what's required to pass the module is not one
of the lecturer's responsibility.
Moreover, students identified a number of teaching
techniques by which they enjoy the learning
experience; these techniques are seminars, online
discussion boards, group tasks, online tasks and
quizzes, videos, music and fieldwork trips.
A learning contract was believed to help students to
realize their role, and hence facilitate the learning
process and achieve the learning outcomes of the
module, however, identifying roles helped in
achieving only the first learning outcome which
focused on understanding the factors that influence
learning strategies. In terms of the second learning
outcome which based on understanding the
communication strategies that enable effective
communication, oral and written, at University level,
it was difficult to engage students from different
backgrounds. Students were only communicating
with colleagues from similar background. Therefore,
engaging the students and facilitate communication in
the class were the focus of the second task; a group
presentation was believed to be a good practice which
helps in breaking distances among students from
different background.
Studies (i.e. Sander and Sander, 2005) show that
students who undertake assessed presentations show
an overall improvement in their self-confidence.
Therefore, the main aim of this task was to enhance
communication among students as well as achieve
better students’ understanding of presentation skills
and increase their self confidence. The task
instructions were as follows: Divide the students into
groups of 4; devise a 5 -10 minute presentation on a
topic of their choice; devise the associated
6
May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1
ISSN 2307-227X
International Journal of Research In Social Sciences
© 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
www.ijsk.org/ijrss
which is normal (Anderson et al., 1998). Only 60%
of students in the three groups expressed an interest
in getting involved in the activity of writing roles.
However, more students were encouraged to
participate and hence contribution reached 90% (i.e
243 students). The following table provides summary
of what the Egyptian students thinks about their role
and the lecturer role at the university level:
technique helped in improving students' key skills
and understanding their special needs.
CASE STUDY TWO: SUEZ CANAL
UNIVERSITY
Three groups of Tourism students at Suez Canal
University were also asked to identify their roles and
the lecturer roles at the university level. Initially,
students were anxious to take responsibility and write
The role of lecturer
Motivate the students
Freq.
211
%
86.8
The role of student
Attend
Freq.
239
%
98.4
Make lectures interesting;
210
86.4
Participate
188
77.4
Deliver quality presentations
195
80.2
157
64.6
Give clear instructions
188
77.3
Pay attention & Switch off
mobiles
Hand in work on time
110
45.3
Guide and assist
184
75.7
Accomplish tasks
109
44.9
Deliver key information
169
69.5
Improve his/her skills
95
39
Teach simply& Use technology
144
59.3
Read around the topic
52
21.4
Show students how to study
131
53.9
Ask questions
51
21
Ensure students understanding
115
47.3
Study before each lecture
34
14
Improve students’ self confidence
113
46.5
Take notes
34
14
Reward good students
98
40.3
Avoid side discussions
31
12.8
Encourage questions
79
32.5
Follow the lecturer rules
27
11.1
Talk
about
future
job
opportunities
Provide helpful information for
exams
Allow late students to attend
57
23.5
Avoid cheating
25
10.2
55
22.6
52
21.4
Avoid criticizing students
41
16.9
Deliver short lectures
15
6.2
Give low educational materials
8
3.3
Plan for easy assessment
8
3.3
7
2.9
Talk
about
experience
his/her
past
Characteristics of the lecturer
Characteristics of the student
7
May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1
ISSN 2307-227X
International Journal of Research In Social Sciences
© 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
www.ijsk.org/ijrss
Approachable
210
86.4
Creative
177
72.8
Understandable
187
77
Respectable
152
62.6
Knowledgeable
174
71.6
Polite
150
61.7
Fair
149
61.3
Punctual
69
28.4
In control
141
58
Reliable
23
9.4
Available to students
78
32.1
Table 4: The characteristics and roles of lecturer/student in the university, Tourism and the Environment Module,
Suez Canal University.
expectations were high. Harden and Crosby (2000)
argued that lecturer and teacher have different rules;
while the teacher is an information provider and the
center of the student learning, lecturer are tend to be a
facilitator of the whole learning process.
When students identified their own roles, it was
surprising that 98.8% of them put “attendance” in the
top of their list. Attendance has been a common
problem in Suez Canal University as many students
tend to show up in lectures and seminars only if the
register is required to pass. Few students showed a
tendency to take responsibility of their own learning
and provided positive responses such as, “I know we
should attend on time”, “It’ll be my mistake of I don’t
hand work on time”, “We never used to get our
mobile silent, but now we realize that it is a
disruptive device and need to be switched off”. 72.8%
of students also believed that they need to be creative
and think about innovative ideas related to the topics
taught. A discussion of roles between the lecturer and
students helped in negotiating roles and foster
understanding
Overall responses were good; students were pleased
to move towards achieving more positive objectives
in relation to their learning process. Students
mentioned that they never thought about their role
before and the activity helped much in organizing
their thoughts. Identifying roles helped them to
realize the importance of their participation in the
class. It also helped the lecturer to put roles for the
future sessions such as, mobiles are switched off, no
side talking and cheating.
For the 46.5% students who believed that one of the
lecturer roles is to improve students’ self-confidence;
a group presentation was eventually planned to
improve students’ skills. In the beginning, many
students resisted the idea of group presentation
claiming that “we don’t know each other’s”, “we
have no idea how to use PowerPoint”, “we never
The above table is shown a simple description of the
roles of lecturer and students. It was noticed that
Egyptian students has expected more from the
lecturer which is an indication of locating the lecturer
in the center of their learning. According to Harden
and Crosby (2000), students are always facing
challenges when realizing any change in their
education system, particularly if the change is related
to switching between a lecturer and a teacher. In this
context, Egyptian students have used to get taught
through a teacher rather than a lecturer or a
facilitator. 86.8% of the students believed that the
lecturer main role is to motivate the students and
86.4% thinks it’s all about making the lecture
interesting. By looking down in the table, responses
such as “deliver short lectures”, “provide easy
materials” and “plan for easy assessment” have raised
questions of why few students would believe that this
is what the lecturer should do. Few students further
indicated that as they used not to enjoy the learning
experience, their aim has been only passing the
university level and hence they thinks that lecturer
should only teach what is required to pass the exams.
Students also indicated that a lecturer needs to be
approachable and friendly and 71.6% of them pointed
out that he needs to have knowledge around the topic
he teaches. Only 32.1% of the students believed that
a lecturer has to be available to students through
either being in the office during his/her office hours
or through online communications (i.e emails, blogs
and social networks).
By asking students for reasons of providing a longer
list of the lecturer role, a number of common
responses were collected, such as, “we get used to
being passive in previous years of education”, “we
mostly attend to get the register done and learning
time is just before exams”, “the teacher is responsible
of our learning”. It was noticed that students used the
word “teacher” rather than “lecturer” and hence their
8
May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1
ISSN 2307-227X
International Journal of Research In Social Sciences
© 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
www.ijsk.org/ijrss
done a presentation before”, “we don’t know how to
speak in front of the whole class”. All students were
encouraged to take part in the presentation session
and they were supported by a small session in which
presentation skills were discussed.
Students were divided in groups of four and they
were required to prepare and present a topic of their
choice related to the module. Presentation assessment
was through lecturer formative assessment as well as
peer assessment and self-assessment. Students’
performance in the presentation session was generally
good; they enjoyed the experience of being
responsible of what is presented. In addition, students
had to develop better communication among each
other’s, and particularly planning to spend time
together learning outside the classroom (I.e. library)
which was beneficial.
Although only few
presentations were good and organized, students
indicated that they learned much and believed that
their communication and presentation skills have
improved dramatically.
CONCLUSION
Although it was assumed that identifying both
students’ role and lecturer’s role is a good starting
point in achieving the module outcomes, there were a
number of challenges that needed to be overcome;
such as engaging students from different background
and facilitating communication among them.
Planning for a group presentation had a great positive
impact not only on enhancing communications
among students, but also on improving their
presentation skills. Moreover, integrating peer
assessment into the presentation task was a
fundamental part in engaging students and maximise
their benefits from the session.
The overall response of students of Cardiff School of
Management in relation to identifying roles and using
SCL was better than students in Suez Canal
University. In addition, Students in Suez Canal
University have shown high expectations from the
lecturer and put him at the center of the learning and
tried to resist putting themselves at the center of the
learning process.
Generally, the group presentation was proved to be
helpful for all groups of students; it brought students
from different background together in Cardiff School
Management and improved students’ self-confidence
and facilitated communications in Suez Canal
University.
Indeed, the use of learning contracts is strongly
recommended because of their positive impact on
enhancing the learning experience especially in SCL.
While a learning contract helps students’ to realize
their roles at university level and minimize their
expectations from the lecturer, it also helps the
lecturer in putting the students at the center of the
learning process. Although challengeable, lecturers
can use different teaching techniques in order to
overcome certain problems, achieve the learning
outcomes and hence help students to improve their
skills.
AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
This paper has focused on the roles and
characteristics of the lecturer and students at
university level. For the purpose of this research, two
case studies were used to look at the various students’
attitude in identifying the lecturer students’ roles
which facilitate SCL. Students at Cardiff School of
Management expressed a rapid response in writing
about the lecturer rule rather than their own role.
However, they response in completing the contracts
were high. It was obvious that they are aware of
general roles which refer to their maturity in learning.
As the groups were diverse; different students from
different background, the second aim of this study
was to bring them together to achieve better
communication and hence effective SCL. A group
presentation proved to have a positive impact in
exchanging messages among students and learning
from eachothers. It also helped in making the classes
more friendly and enhancing the learning
environment.
In this paper, the use of the learning contracts as a
part of SCL in achieving the learning outcome of
Research Methods and Professional Development
module was discussed. It was clear that identifying
roles helped in raising the attendance and
participation in the teaching sessions as well as
seeking information outside the classroom.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
9
Anderson, G., Baud, D. and Samposon, J. (1998)
Qualities of learning contracts, in Stephenson, J.
and Yorke, M. (Eds) Capabilities and quality in
Higher Education, Kogan Page,
pp. 2-11.
Available
from:
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/re
sources/heca/heca_cq_18.pdf. Accessed on 3009-2012
Astin, A. (1999), Student involvement: a
developing theory for higher education, Journal
of college student development, Graduate school
of Education, University of California, Los
Anglos. p 518-525.
May 2013. Vol. 2, No.1
ISSN 2307-227X
International Journal of Research In Social Sciences
© 2013 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
www.ijsk.org/ijrss
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
perceptions. Psychology Teaching Review, 11,
1, 25-39.
18. Timberlake, K. (2007) Using Student Centered
Learning Strategies in the Chemistry Classroo.
Department of Chemistry, Los Angeles Valley
College, Valley Glen, available
from:
http://www.karentimberlake.com/studentcentered_classoom.htm accessed on 21-02-11.
Atherton, J. S. (2003), Learning and Teaching:
Learning
Contracts,
Available
from:
http://146.227.1.20/~jamesa//teaching/learning_c
ontracts.htm Accessed on: 19-03-11.
David, M. and Sutton, C. (2004) Social Research,
the basics, SAGE: London.
Donohoe. S. (2007), Development of a studentcentered learning project. Available from:
http://www.aced.org.uk/Powerpoint/SteveDonoh
oeAGM2004%20.ppt#256 Accessed on 20-022012
Harden R M and Crosby J R (2000). AMEE
Education Guide No 20: The good teacher is
more than a lecturer – the twelve roles of the
teacher. Medical Teacher 22(4): 334-347.
Available
from:
http://amec.glp.net/c/document_library/get_file?p
_l_id=781846&folderId=1077184&name=DLFE20791.pdf Accessed on 30-01-2013.
Hannafin, m. and Land, S. (1997) The
foundations and assumptions of technologyenhanced
student-centered
learning
environments, Instructional Science 25, 167–202.
Hirumi, A. (2007), Student-Centred TechnologyRich Learning Environments (SCenTRLE) Operationalizing Constructivist Approaches to
Teaching and Learning. Available from:
http://www.bath.ac.uk/elearning/student_centredness.htm Accessed on:
14-03-11.
Lemieux, C. (2001) Learning contracts in the
classroom: Tools for empowerment and
accountability. Social Work Education: The
International Journal. 20 (2), 263-276.
Mcallister, M. (1996), learning contracts: an
Australian experience. Nurse Education Today,
16 (3), 199-205.
Nanney, B. (2004), Student-Centered Learning,
Available
from:
http://www2.gsu.edu/~mstswh/courses/it7000/pa
pers/student-.htm Accessed on 26-01-2012
Paulson, D. (1999), Active Learning and
Cooperative Learning in the Organic Chemistry
Lecture Class, J. Chem Ed.
RMIT University (2013) the role of the lecturer,
available
from:
https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu/content/1_St
udySkills/study_tuts/first_four_weeks_LL/docs/r
ole_of_lecturer.pdf Accessed on 12-03-2013.
Roger, C. (1969), freedom to learn, Charles
Merrill, Ohio.
Rositsa, B. and John, T., (2004), Student
involvement in university life - beyond political
activism in university governance: a view from
central and eastern Europe. European Journal of
Education, 39, (4), 471-483.
Sampson, J., Boud, D and Anderson, G. Learning
contracts. Routledge: UK.
Sander, P. and Sanders, L. (2005), Giving
Presentations: the impact on students’
10