Exchange and Understanding
Meeting the Challenges of a Globalized World by Building an Entrepreneurial Mindset
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Katia Moles, Laura Robinson
Our study examines innovative, inclusive pedagogies that educators can use to harness an Entrepreneurial Mindset. We show how students who internalize an Entrepreneurial Mindset grow into changemakers who address social problems in an increasingly globalized and digital world. These pedagogies speak to the educational needs of Gen Z students who are eager to make connections between their educational experiences and the social challenges they see around them. The research is multidisciplinary and analyzes a primary data set to explore how students participating in curated pedagogies based on the Entrepreneurial Mindset grow to see themselves as changemakers. Using a mixed-method approach, our data shows how educational interventions can increase students’ ability to: solve problems, incorporate constructive feedback into solutions, flexibly adapt with limited resources, and work in teams to address problems collectively. Our data analysis informs the development of pedagogies to curate strategies that inculcate an Entrepreneurial Mindset across the curriculum. The results inform pedagogical practices that fortify students’ self-confidence as changemakers who take entrepreneurial approaches to meet challenges of inclusion while valuing intercultural competency. Drawing on our analysis, we speak to opportunities in different university educational settings that prepare university students to engage with the globalizing world around them thanks to the inculcation of an Entrepreneurial Mindset.
An Exploration of Grade 9 Learners’ Misconceptions in Ratio and Proportion: A Case of a Selected School in Lebowakgomo District, Limpopo Province View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session France Machaba, Daniel Madzingira
Studies from several regions of the world have shown that although learners can use ratio and proportion in simple and routine ways, they have difficulty in using these concepts to solve problems. Researchers discovered that learners use flawed strategies that result in misconceptions when dealing with the concept of ratio and proportion. This study was aimed at exploring the misconceptions about learning ratio and proportion among Grade 9 learners at a school in Lebowakgomo District, Limpopo Province. To understand how learners conceptualised and solve mathematical problems related to ratio and proportion, we used the constructs found in constructivism. A qualitative design was employed to explore misconceptions displayed among Grade 9 learners at a selected school following a case study approach. Data was gathered and analysed, through a test and a semi-structured interview in exploring how learners conceptualise ratio and proportion, what kind of misconceptions prevail and what might be the causes of these misconceptions. The study found that most learners failed to correctly solve problems ratio and proportion questions, more especially in which ratio and proportion were not given and where rational reasoning was needed to tackle the problems. Hence, learners ended up using different approaches or techniques such as intuitive, additive, incorrect multiplication strategies, misconceptions related to additive strategy, incomplete strategy, guess work and wrong cross multiplications.The study, therefore, recommends that those teachers should have a very strong pedagogical knowledge content of ratio and proportions so that they should guide learners effectively.
Technopreneurial Learning and Knowledge: How Generative AI and Other Emerging Technologies Can Lead Entrepreneurs in Generating Innovative Ideas, Creating Customer Friendly Products/Services and Developing Commercialization Strategies to Minimize Startup Failures View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Zulfiqar Aslam
Entrepreneurship has always been about finding innovative solutions to problems and creating new opportunities. We are aware of the fact that technology has become a crucial tool for entrepreneurs, allowing them to reach wider audiences, streamline processes and stay ahead of their competition. Therefore, in this research, we investigate and propose how appropriate knowledge and skills of the emerging technological trends of the 21st century, such as Generative AI tools and Platforms (ChatGPT, Jeda, Bard, DALL-E 2, Uizard, InVision, Albert, Chatfuel and AdCreative etc. Top trending tools with new and exciting use cases for Businesses and Startups), Block Chain Technologies, Internet of Things and Immersive Technologies can help entrepreneurs in planning and creating successful startups. They can automate and optimize business processes, perform predictive analytics based on real time data collection, personalize and engage customers in a better and smarter ways, improve supply chain management, achieve greater transparency and security in transactions, enable smart contracts, increase security and trust among stakeholders, enhance consumer experiences through smart marketing techniques, remote collaboration and communication.
Empowering Students to Deepen and Broaden Learning from an Exchange Program View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rena Zendedel, Veronique Schutjens
Taking an exchange program is an effective way for students to broaden their disciplinary perspectives, to improve their intercultural competences and also strengthen professional skills. However, students are hardly aware of these effects. And if they are, they have great difficulty to both articulate these newly acquired skills and link these to their identity, personal and professional development and competences. To what extent and how does a training trajectory around an exchange program increase (awareness of) professional skill development and equip students to capitalize on their exchange program’s learning effects? This paper describes the design and first empirical results of a training trajectory targeting UU outbound exchange students. The trajectory aims to improve exchange students’ recognition, understanding, and mobilization of intercultural and other professional competences towards employability skills. Based on a quantitative approach using data collected via pre-departure and back-home questionnaires, we find that the participants are motivated students, who are confident in already mastering particular skills, but aim to actively develop other skills as well. Their (self-reported) skills mastered at the end of the exchange differ from the skills they had before going abroad. Next to intercultural competences, students also reported to have developed in particular self-management and problem-solving skills. In a next project phase we plan to compare the skill development of exchange students who do and who do not take part in the training trajectory, and to explore whether, in what way and why both student skill development and reflections on their learning from exchange programs differ.
HPC-ED - a Federated Repository for High-Performance Computing Training: Finding, Sharing, and Assessing Technological Training Materials View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Richard Knepper
Training materials for high-performance computing, programming, and using computational science software abound, but they can be difficult to find and often have minimal information about their relevance or quality. The HPC-ED Pilot project supports a platform that incorporates existing training materials into a repository that makes training materials findable, shareable, and integrable into training portals at local universities and research centers that support High-Performance Computing. Organizations and authors of training materials retain physical and legal ownership of their materials by sharing only the catalog information. The HPC-ED repository allows local portals to be augmented with additional content from vetted sources, integrating local and remote training resources under a single resource. Learners are able to make use of HPC training materials that are reviewed and categorized with a common metadata model. The metadata model includes a standard set of descriptive tags that allow learners to find resources more easily. The HPC-ED Pilot has involved a large number of training providers, including High-Performance Computing resource providers, universities, and other institutions to incorporate remote training materials as well as disseminate them to broader audiences. Currently initial project partners are integrating their content with the metadata schema and making resources available through the repository, and preparing tools to simplify listing content in the repository.
