Proceedings of the 7th International Academic Conference on Education, Teaching and Learning
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Teaching-Research-Industry-Learning Pedagogy in Bridging Science-to-Practice Gap
Samane Maroufi
ABSTRACT:
To enhance the quality of students learning in higher education institutions, it is essential to think behind the traditional approach of teaching where students only learn the theoretical concepts without being able to associate the practical value of those learning theoretical concepts. Science-to-practice gap has been one of the main challenges that students face after graduation hindering their effectiveness. While it is important to create a real connection for students between scientific knowledge and the implementation of that science, bridging the gap between university learning and real-life practice in industry, it remains a formidable challenge for educators to implement the appropriate strategy to ensure achieving their aims. This study is dedicated to a Teaching-Research-Industry-Learning (TRIL) pedagogy which was developed in designing elective courses on sustainability/recycling and circular economy courses at UNSW to create real connections for students between scientific knowledge and the research implementation of that science and addresses multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The proposed TRIL pedagogy, is envisaged as a two-layer model. The underpinning layer engages a student-centred deep approach to learning by creating inspiring and rich learning environments which can be achieved by maximising student participation, engagement and interactivity (through group-work, class discussions, and structured interactions, e.g. think-pair share, ‘turn & talk’). The second layer is based on inquiry learning where research-integrated learning ensures students learn about the latest research, while through industry integrated-learning. In this layer, real case studies are used to showcase the implementation and commercialisation of lab research outcomes into industrial processes where students can learn scientific and theoretical concepts through detailed explanations of industry case studies. This methodology was evaluated by students over 4 years at the end of each trimester via online anonymous surveys. The result of survey of 156 participants indicates that, students perceived this teaching and learning approach as beneficial for promoting their learning, interest, and motivation enabling them to connect to the real time practice. 100% students agreed that this teaching pedagogy helped them strongly to connect the theoretical concept in the context of sustainability to the real-life practice. As a conclusion this method seems to be an effective approach in bridging the science-to-practice gap.
keywords: research-informed teaching, Industry-learning, Science-to-practice, higher education, STEM