Blaženka Divjak - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Blaženka Divjak

Udžbenik je prvenstveno namijenjen studentima kojima matematika nije primarno podrucje izucavanja... more Udžbenik je prvenstveno namijenjen studentima kojima matematika nije primarno podrucje izucavanja, vec im služi kao alat za opis i razumijevanje problema iz drugih znanstvenih podrucja. Teme koje su odabrane prvenstveno se odnose na studij informatike i ostalih drstvenih znanosti

International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education

Professional development (PD) is a key element for enhancing the quality of academic teaching. An... more Professional development (PD) is a key element for enhancing the quality of academic teaching. An increasing number of PD activities have moved to blended and online formats, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the desire, potential, and need for collaboration among educators to learn from innovative and best practices, several institutions have started to pool their resources and expertise together and have started to implement cross-institutional and cross-national online professional development (OPD). The questions of what type of a (cross-)institutional OPD educators might prefer, and whether educators learn effectively from (and with) peers in such cross-cultural context have not been adequately explored empirically. In this case-study across three European countries, we explored the lived experiences of 86 educators as a result of a cross-institutional OPD. Using a mixed methods design approach our pre-post findings indicated that, on average, participants made sub...

International Review of Education

It is widely acknowledged that graduates need to develop skills and competences beyond the theore... more It is widely acknowledged that graduates need to develop skills and competences beyond the theoretical knowledge nurtured within higher education curricula. In the last twenty years there has been an increased interest in supporting learners with work-based learning (WBL) (e.g. apprenticeships, practice-based lab sessions, project-based learning). The experience of COVID-19-related lockdowns has ignited a push to support and provide these opportunities for skills development online. In this systematic literature review, the authors explored (1) which innovative technologies and online WBL typologies are implemented in online WBL in higher education; and (2) to what extent there is evidence that online WBL is effective. From an initial pool of 269 studies identified from two datasets, the authors selected thirteen studies which implemented and evaluated online WBL. In total, 1,015 respondents were included in these studies (M = 84.58, SD = 118.28, range: 7–390). The authors’ findings...

LAK23: 13th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference

Learning analytics (LA) has been opening new opportunities to support learning in higher educatio... more Learning analytics (LA) has been opening new opportunities to support learning in higher education (HE). LA dashboards are an important tool in providing students with insights into their learning progress, and predictions, leading to reflection and adaptation of learning plans and habits. Based on a human-centered approach, we present a perspective of students, as essential stakeholders, on LA dashboards. We describe a longitudinal study, based on survey methodology. The study included two iterations of a survey, conducted with second-year ICT students in 2017 (N = 222) and 2022 (N = 196). The study provided insights into the LA dashboard features the students find the most useful to support their learning. The students highly appreciated features related to short-term planning and organization of learning, while they were cautious about comparison and competition with other students, finding such features possibly demotivating. We compared the 2017 and 2022 results to establish possible changes in the students' perspectives with the COVID-19 pandemic. The students' awareness of the benefits of LA has increased, which may be related to the strong focus on online learning during the pandemic. Finally, a factor analysis yielded a dashboard model with five underlying factors: comparison, planning, predictions, extracurricular, and teachers.

Learning analytics is focused on the educational challenge of optimizing opportunities for meanin... more Learning analytics is focused on the educational challenge of optimizing opportunities for meaningful learning. Assessment deeply influences learning, but at the same time data about assessment are rarely considered and utilized by learning analytics. Current approaches to analysis and reasoning about peer-assessment lack rigor and appropriate measures of reliability assessment. Our paper addresses these issues with a geometrical model based on the taxicab geometry and the use of the scoring rubrics. We propose and justify measures for calculation of the final grade in peer-assessment and related inter-rater and intra-rater reliability measures. We present and discuss a geometrical model for two important peer-assessment scenarios.Analitike učenja usredotočene su na obrazovne izazove vezane uz postizanje svrsishodnog učenja. Vrednovanje postizanja ishoda učenja izrazito utječe na učenje. Međutim, podaci o procesu vrednovanja vrlo rijetko se koriste u postojećim analitikama učenja. N...

Student working environment influences student learning and achievement level. In this respect so... more Student working environment influences student learning and achievement level. In this respect social aspects of students ’ formal and non-formal learning play special role in learning environment. The main research problem of this paper is to find out if students ' academic performance influences their position in different students ' social networks. Further, there is a need to identify other predictors of this position. In the process of problem solving we use the Social Network Analysis (SNA) that is based on the data we collected from the students at the

This paper gives a brief overview of the changes within higher education system during the last f... more This paper gives a brief overview of the changes within higher education system during the last few decades. Further, the paper brings critical analysis of approaches to strategic decision-making and strategic planning in higher education and most importantly, it brings examples of strategic problems and possible strategic decisions as well as strategic decision evaluation possibilities within higher education and the corresponding impact evaluation within Croatian HE institutions.

The paper deals with the diffusion of e-learning model as an innovation in a higher education ins... more The paper deals with the diffusion of e-learning model as an innovation in a higher education institution (university, faculty). Apart from the two basic phases in the process, namely the initiation phases – until the decision about the innovation has been made and the implementation phases which follows after that and two basic individual components of the diffusion of innovation model; previous related knowledge and perceived properties of innovation, the model described here recognizes the factors of the organization environment which influence its potential capacity to absorb innovation. The qualitative research disclosed five key factors of the social environment, six factors of the business environment and sixteen factors of the internal environment which have impact on the organization in the initial phase of the process of diffusion of e-learning in faculties in the Republic of Croatia.

Learning analytics should go beyond data analysis and include approaches and algorithms that are ... more Learning analytics should go beyond data analysis and include approaches and algorithms that are meaningful for learner performance and that can be interpreted by teacher and related to learning outcomes. Assessment analytics has been lagging behind other research in learning analytics. This holds true especially for peer-assessment analytics. In this paper we present a mathematical model for peerassessment based on the use of scoring rubrics for criteriabased assessment. We propose methods for the calculation of the final grade along with reliability measurues of peerassessment. Modeling is motivated and driven by the identi- fied peer-assessment scenarios. Use of peer-assessment based on a sound model provides benefits of the deeper learning while addressing the issues of validity and reliability.

Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences, Jul 1, 2009

Student and teacher mobility are important aspects of education within the Bologna Process. Overc... more Student and teacher mobility are important aspects of education within the Bologna Process. Overcoming the language barrier is a precondition for following and providing instruction in a foreign language. A survey was conducted among first-year undergraduate students to determine their readiness for instruction in English. The survey results show the respondent profile, their assessment of instruction within an English language course, using other ways of acquiring knowledge and self-assessment of their command of English. The students' selfassessment of motivation for learning English and its relevance for their profession are presented along with students' interest in other courses offered in English. It turns out that, regardless of a satisfactory level of self-assesed competence in English and motivation for learning English, students are not willing to enroll in the offered study courses in English. This may indicate that all the preconditions for mobility have not been fulfilled. The survey results are compared with the corresponding results of another, more comprehensive, survey among graduate students at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics conducted at the whole University of Zagreb. Although the results obtained in the two surveys are not identical, they roughly correspond.

28th International Conference on Information Technology Interfaces, 2006., 2006

The universities/faculties in Croatia should strategically implement e-learning in the existing a... more The universities/faculties in Croatia should strategically implement e-learning in the existing academic activities because of the many functional benefits that e-learning brings. In our paper we will present major challenges about e-learning in Croatia on different levels: state, university, faculty and personal level. We will also present results of the questionnaire about advantages and goals of elearning implementation and about criteria that are essential for decision making about the most suitable form of implementing e-learning. These results are the most important parts of the elearning strategy documents according to the examples of e-learning strategies of EU universities.

International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 2011

In this paper, we deal with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-based group decision making usin... more In this paper, we deal with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-based group decision making using keypads. It is a way of aggregating group judgements that allows a group to enhance the validity of the outcome by including the importance of people's knowledge, expertise and experience, to accept the disparate power of its members when eliciting their judgements, and to make group decision making more efficient, by reducing the redundancy in judgements and spending less time and money on reaching an agreement. In addition, we present the case study 'Ranking the means of state support for international projects'. The purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough insight into the use of the AHP-based group decision making using keypads, i.e. a multiple criteria decision-making methodology which provides an effective framework for guiding managers in solving problems based on the group decision making.

Ova je knjiga prvenstveno namijenjena istraživačima, privrednicima i djelatnicima u javnim poduze... more Ova je knjiga prvenstveno namijenjena istraživačima, privrednicima i djelatnicima u javnim poduzećima koji imaju ideju za inovativni, razvojni ili istraživački projekt. Nadalje, ona se može koristiti i kao vrijedna literatura u procesu obrazovanja projektnih menadžera u znanosti i razvoju te kao udžbenik za mlade znanstvenike tijekom njihovog poslijediplomskog studija. Znanstveno-istraživački rad organiziran preko projekata danas je imperativ jer se na

International Journal of Project Management, 2008

This paper presents a case study of teaching project management in Croatia in two different learn... more This paper presents a case study of teaching project management in Croatia in two different learning environments and points out two main paradigms upon which both courses are designed. These two paradigms are most effective learning is working in real-life situations and teach them what you promised and students will respond with effort. We point out similarities in teaching methods but also the differences in motivation and achieved levels of knowledge and skills. Implementation of e-learning has been made according to the set objectives for each course. Follow up of students' satisfaction level and personal development has regularly been assessed.

International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 2010

This article reports on the research whose specific objective is to improve student retention in ... more This article reports on the research whose specific objective is to improve student retention in mathematics included in the first-year ICT study programme by means of improving teaching methods, with an emphasis on gender issues. Two principal reasons for this research are, first, the fact that first-year mathematics courses are often viewed as an obstacle for retention in studying ICT, and second, the fact that female students are strongly underrepresented in ICT. Furthermore, according to recently introduced research, changes in pedagogy and the content of mathematics have been evaluated. Those changes are directed towards competency-based and student-centred education and are heavily supported by technology-based learning. Although only minor gender differences in different skills have been detected, the pass rate for female students is constantly higher than that for male students. Therefore, the reasons for the better performance of female students have been investigated taking into account both the motivation for study and learning styles. The primary sources of data used in the first year of research comprised questionnaires (n ¼ 130) together with classroom and on-line assessment material for 263 students. In the next year, 160 students of Information Systems participated in the survey, the central topic of which was the motivation for study. Additionally, the research focused on finding out if the motivation factors are gender specific. The research was conducted in Croatia where no research on a similar topic had been previously available. In terms of the specific features of the socio-cultural environment, conducting such a research in Croatia proved to be worthwhile, particularly considering the possibility of comparing the obtained results with those arising from other environments.

International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 2011

EPortfolio offers a new philosophy of teaching and learning, giving the learner an opportunity to... more EPortfolio offers a new philosophy of teaching and learning, giving the learner an opportunity to express oneself, to show oneâ??s past work and experience to all the interested parties ranging from teachers to potential employers. However, an integral model for ePortfolio implementation in academic institutions that would take into account three different levels of stakeholders: 1. Individual (student and teacher); 2. Institution; and 3. Employer, currently does not exist. In this paper the role of ePortfolio in academic environment as well as the context in which ePortfolio operates is analyzed in detail. As a result of the comprehensive analysis that takes into account individual, academic institution and employer, a meta-model of ePortfolio usage in Lifelong Learning is proposed.

Math. Commun, 2009

1 Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb, Pavlinska 2, HR-42000 Varazdin, ... more 1 Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb, Pavlinska 2, HR-42000 Varazdin, Croatia 2 Department of Geometry, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, H-1521 Budapest, Hungary ... Abstract. In this paper geodesics and ...