Lucilla Crosta | University of Liverpool (original) (raw)
Papers by Lucilla Crosta
GiLE Journal of Skills Development
This paper presents the results of the project “21st Century Skills: Changing the Approach to Tea... more This paper presents the results of the project “21st Century Skills: Changing the Approach to Teaching in Higher Education”, which was funded by the Erasmus+ programme between 2019 and 2021. The study involved seven institutions coming from different parts of Europe; mainly these were universities, but there was also one not-for-profit organisation, and one SME. Past and present-day initiatives and studies relating to the development of soft and digital skills among university students are investigated, with particular regard being paid to their perspective when they first have to face the job market. The study design is threefold, involving firstly desk research, where major documents were collected in Bulgaria, Spain, Turkey, Czech Republic, and Italy; then market research, where a sample of corporate professionals and university representatives were interviewed in order to gather additional information relating to the level of development of these skills among young graduates and...
EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
International Journal on E Learning, 2004
GiLE Journal of Skills Development
The current paper presents the Italian results of the Project Erasmus + “21st Century Skills: Cha... more The current paper presents the Italian results of the Project Erasmus + “21st Century Skills: Changing the Approach to Teaching in Higher Education” funded by the European Commission. The paper is aimed at presenting the work of Smarthink Ltd, as project partner, providing definitions, current research, and the best practices for teaching the ‘so-called’ soft skills among university students and fresh graduates in Italy, and to understand the employers’ perception of the owned and desired competencies among young employees. The study design was twofold. Firstly, desk research where major documents, national and international, were collected on the topic in Italy, and secondly, market research where a sample of entrepreneurs was interviewed in order to gather additional information on the level of development of these skills among young graduates and employees. Findings revealed that in Italy 21st Century Skills developed by young graduates are still few and that there are only a few...
Proceedings of the 6 th International Conference on Networked Learning
This paper presents some reflections on a study carried out as research student at the Department... more This paper presents some reflections on a study carried out as research student at the Department of Education, Sheffield University (UK). The research context is a post-graduate blended Master in Open Education and Training (MOET) carried out at the Bocconi University in Milano (Italy) in year 2004. The blended course was delivered partially via distance (online) and partially in presence (face-to-face). The study overall is presented as an Action Research approach where the teacher/tutor’s personal online experience leads to considerations about possible ways to improve the learning process in online learning communities at post-graduate level.
This paper presents some reflections on a study carried out as research student at the Department... more This paper presents some reflections on a study carried out as research student at the Department of Education, Sheffield University (UK). The research context is a post-graduate blended Master in Open Education and Training (MOET) carried out at the Bocconi University in Milano (Italy) in year 2004. The blended course was delivered partially via distance (online) and partially in presence (face-to-face). The study overall is presented as an Action Research approach where the teacher/tutor’s personal online experience leads to considerations about possible ways to improve the learning process in online learning communities at post-graduate level.
This paper presents and discusses innovation in relation to the European project Innovative Appro... more This paper presents and discusses innovation in relation to the European project Innovative Approaches for a Full Inclusion in eLearning (i-AFIEL) and, in particular, the methodology applied to measure innovation in eLearning projects developed by the Spanish OVSI Foundation. The paper focuses on the concept of innovation and the three key aspects related to the eLearning context: technological innovation, sociological innovation and service customization. A series of Innovation Criteria are proposed and discussed as elements to be measured in order to understand the degree of innovation of each eLearning project. The challenge of the i-AFIEL methodology is the transformation of these indicators into numbers and scores, and thus to evaluate quantitatively the success and the novelty of the projects. The evaluation system involves the transformation of the Innovation Criteria into Indicators, and the transformation of the latter into questions and tools addressed to two different tar...
The intention of this paper is that of describing and analysing through a comparative case study,... more The intention of this paper is that of describing and analysing through a comparative case study, how online learning groups may evolve into online learning communities. The contexts chosen were two respectively blended and online Master courses in education delivered in Italy and United Kingdom (UK). The Research involved the use of Grounded Theory analysis of the text messages exchanged in the designated course forums. The paper will present some theorization about online learning group development and design, it will then illustrate the characteristics of this study and then its final findings and comparisons challenging the more diffused theories on traditional and online group development. The theory building process at the basis of this work involved the construction of new categories representing the uniqueness of each group and the presence of "stage of developments”. The main findings are three different Group Developmental Models: a product-oriented model, a product-p...
The aim of this research was to investigate the extent to which (if at all) a cohort of students ... more The aim of this research was to investigate the extent to which (if at all) a cohort of students in a Professional Doctorate of Higher Education program evolved into an authentic online learning community. This programme attracts students from all over the world who interact in asynchronous virtual learning environment. This research work was in two phases. Phase one consisted of auditing three out of the nine taught modules in the programme. The audit explored a cohort of students' interaction patterns within and between three modules. During phase two some students volunteered to participate in the in-depth unstructured interviews designed to gain some insights on the issues that were identified in phase 1 of the study. Using the Community of Inquiry model we discovered that a majority of the students did not feel their cohort resembled an authentic online learning community. Although cognitive presence as higher order learning intent was evident in the whole class and small team discussion, social presence (emotional and social connections with other students) was less evident or absent in some cases in the modules. We found out that teaching presence was predominantly on the mediation with cognitive presence and social presence. The paper discusses outcomes from the major findings and their implications to motivations to complete the program and to formation of online communities of inquiry.
The current study explored the interaction patterns of a cohort of international students in a Pr... more The current study explored the interaction patterns of a cohort of international students in a Professional Doctorate of Higher Education program (EdD) in order to establish the extent to which (if at all) the cohort evolved into an authentic online learning community. Phase 1 of the study consisted of a retrospective audit of three out of the nine modules taught in the program (beginning, middle, and end). The audit explored a cohort of students’ interaction patterns within and between the three modules. In phase two, eight cohort members participated in thorough interviews designed to gain insight into the issues that were identified in phase 1 of the study. Using the Community of Inquiry model, we discovered that a majority of the students did not feel their cohort resembled an authentic online learning community. Although cognitive and teaching presence was evident, social presence was less evident in the modules. Among the literature reviewed, there has been no single agreed de...
ICERI2018 Proceedings, 2018
International Journal of Doctoral Studies
Aim/Purpose: This paper explores how online structured doctoral programmes (OSDPs) can sustain mo... more Aim/Purpose: This paper explores how online structured doctoral programmes (OSDPs) can sustain more fully the collective dimension of supervision for student emancipation leading to academic success. The paper answers the following research question: What mechanisms, if any, are responsible for successful online supervision leading to student academic success, and under what conditions can this occur? Moreover, what does academic success mean for the different parties involved? Background: Recent research on online supervision has highlighted that such supervision’s effectiveness relies on creating a relationship based on converging personal expectations and preferences, generating a common language between supervisors and supervisees to assure student emancipation for academic success. Further research reveals that creating such a relationship is more challenging in an online environment because of increased student isolation due to distance issues. We, however, contend that this a...
Proceedings of the 6th Teaching & Education Conference, Vienna, 2018
Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, 2021
This chapter compares student and facilitator perceptions of what supports learning in teams in o... more This chapter compares student and facilitator perceptions of what supports learning in teams in online environments. The authors (one Italian and one British) draw on their experiences facilitating modules in a UK-based online international professional doctorate of Higher Education with students from across the globe, as well as a two-year research project on developing best practice in supporting online international graduate students to engage in virtual learning teams. The theories underpinning the educational use of learning teams are those of constructivism and social learning, all of which suggest a facilitative role for the tutor. However, there is disagreement about what this looks like and what it means for student autonomy and facilitator presence. Many students expect greater tutor involvement, especially when teams are not functioning at an optimal level. The chapter offers both an in-depth discussion of the literature that looks at student and tutor perspectives on virtual team learning,and a summary of findings from a mixed methods research project on students’ needs and tutors’ practice while working in dispersed learning teams. Finally, the chapter draws out implications for the development of e-pedagogy to support learning and engage international learners in online contexts at the graduate level.
Studies in Continuing Education
GiLE Journal of Skills Development
This paper presents the results of the project “21st Century Skills: Changing the Approach to Tea... more This paper presents the results of the project “21st Century Skills: Changing the Approach to Teaching in Higher Education”, which was funded by the Erasmus+ programme between 2019 and 2021. The study involved seven institutions coming from different parts of Europe; mainly these were universities, but there was also one not-for-profit organisation, and one SME. Past and present-day initiatives and studies relating to the development of soft and digital skills among university students are investigated, with particular regard being paid to their perspective when they first have to face the job market. The study design is threefold, involving firstly desk research, where major documents were collected in Bulgaria, Spain, Turkey, Czech Republic, and Italy; then market research, where a sample of corporate professionals and university representatives were interviewed in order to gather additional information relating to the level of development of these skills among young graduates and...
EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
International Journal on E Learning, 2004
GiLE Journal of Skills Development
The current paper presents the Italian results of the Project Erasmus + “21st Century Skills: Cha... more The current paper presents the Italian results of the Project Erasmus + “21st Century Skills: Changing the Approach to Teaching in Higher Education” funded by the European Commission. The paper is aimed at presenting the work of Smarthink Ltd, as project partner, providing definitions, current research, and the best practices for teaching the ‘so-called’ soft skills among university students and fresh graduates in Italy, and to understand the employers’ perception of the owned and desired competencies among young employees. The study design was twofold. Firstly, desk research where major documents, national and international, were collected on the topic in Italy, and secondly, market research where a sample of entrepreneurs was interviewed in order to gather additional information on the level of development of these skills among young graduates and employees. Findings revealed that in Italy 21st Century Skills developed by young graduates are still few and that there are only a few...
Proceedings of the 6 th International Conference on Networked Learning
This paper presents some reflections on a study carried out as research student at the Department... more This paper presents some reflections on a study carried out as research student at the Department of Education, Sheffield University (UK). The research context is a post-graduate blended Master in Open Education and Training (MOET) carried out at the Bocconi University in Milano (Italy) in year 2004. The blended course was delivered partially via distance (online) and partially in presence (face-to-face). The study overall is presented as an Action Research approach where the teacher/tutor’s personal online experience leads to considerations about possible ways to improve the learning process in online learning communities at post-graduate level.
This paper presents some reflections on a study carried out as research student at the Department... more This paper presents some reflections on a study carried out as research student at the Department of Education, Sheffield University (UK). The research context is a post-graduate blended Master in Open Education and Training (MOET) carried out at the Bocconi University in Milano (Italy) in year 2004. The blended course was delivered partially via distance (online) and partially in presence (face-to-face). The study overall is presented as an Action Research approach where the teacher/tutor’s personal online experience leads to considerations about possible ways to improve the learning process in online learning communities at post-graduate level.
This paper presents and discusses innovation in relation to the European project Innovative Appro... more This paper presents and discusses innovation in relation to the European project Innovative Approaches for a Full Inclusion in eLearning (i-AFIEL) and, in particular, the methodology applied to measure innovation in eLearning projects developed by the Spanish OVSI Foundation. The paper focuses on the concept of innovation and the three key aspects related to the eLearning context: technological innovation, sociological innovation and service customization. A series of Innovation Criteria are proposed and discussed as elements to be measured in order to understand the degree of innovation of each eLearning project. The challenge of the i-AFIEL methodology is the transformation of these indicators into numbers and scores, and thus to evaluate quantitatively the success and the novelty of the projects. The evaluation system involves the transformation of the Innovation Criteria into Indicators, and the transformation of the latter into questions and tools addressed to two different tar...
The intention of this paper is that of describing and analysing through a comparative case study,... more The intention of this paper is that of describing and analysing through a comparative case study, how online learning groups may evolve into online learning communities. The contexts chosen were two respectively blended and online Master courses in education delivered in Italy and United Kingdom (UK). The Research involved the use of Grounded Theory analysis of the text messages exchanged in the designated course forums. The paper will present some theorization about online learning group development and design, it will then illustrate the characteristics of this study and then its final findings and comparisons challenging the more diffused theories on traditional and online group development. The theory building process at the basis of this work involved the construction of new categories representing the uniqueness of each group and the presence of "stage of developments”. The main findings are three different Group Developmental Models: a product-oriented model, a product-p...
The aim of this research was to investigate the extent to which (if at all) a cohort of students ... more The aim of this research was to investigate the extent to which (if at all) a cohort of students in a Professional Doctorate of Higher Education program evolved into an authentic online learning community. This programme attracts students from all over the world who interact in asynchronous virtual learning environment. This research work was in two phases. Phase one consisted of auditing three out of the nine taught modules in the programme. The audit explored a cohort of students' interaction patterns within and between three modules. During phase two some students volunteered to participate in the in-depth unstructured interviews designed to gain some insights on the issues that were identified in phase 1 of the study. Using the Community of Inquiry model we discovered that a majority of the students did not feel their cohort resembled an authentic online learning community. Although cognitive presence as higher order learning intent was evident in the whole class and small team discussion, social presence (emotional and social connections with other students) was less evident or absent in some cases in the modules. We found out that teaching presence was predominantly on the mediation with cognitive presence and social presence. The paper discusses outcomes from the major findings and their implications to motivations to complete the program and to formation of online communities of inquiry.
The current study explored the interaction patterns of a cohort of international students in a Pr... more The current study explored the interaction patterns of a cohort of international students in a Professional Doctorate of Higher Education program (EdD) in order to establish the extent to which (if at all) the cohort evolved into an authentic online learning community. Phase 1 of the study consisted of a retrospective audit of three out of the nine modules taught in the program (beginning, middle, and end). The audit explored a cohort of students’ interaction patterns within and between the three modules. In phase two, eight cohort members participated in thorough interviews designed to gain insight into the issues that were identified in phase 1 of the study. Using the Community of Inquiry model, we discovered that a majority of the students did not feel their cohort resembled an authentic online learning community. Although cognitive and teaching presence was evident, social presence was less evident in the modules. Among the literature reviewed, there has been no single agreed de...
ICERI2018 Proceedings, 2018
International Journal of Doctoral Studies
Aim/Purpose: This paper explores how online structured doctoral programmes (OSDPs) can sustain mo... more Aim/Purpose: This paper explores how online structured doctoral programmes (OSDPs) can sustain more fully the collective dimension of supervision for student emancipation leading to academic success. The paper answers the following research question: What mechanisms, if any, are responsible for successful online supervision leading to student academic success, and under what conditions can this occur? Moreover, what does academic success mean for the different parties involved? Background: Recent research on online supervision has highlighted that such supervision’s effectiveness relies on creating a relationship based on converging personal expectations and preferences, generating a common language between supervisors and supervisees to assure student emancipation for academic success. Further research reveals that creating such a relationship is more challenging in an online environment because of increased student isolation due to distance issues. We, however, contend that this a...
Proceedings of the 6th Teaching & Education Conference, Vienna, 2018
Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, 2021
This chapter compares student and facilitator perceptions of what supports learning in teams in o... more This chapter compares student and facilitator perceptions of what supports learning in teams in online environments. The authors (one Italian and one British) draw on their experiences facilitating modules in a UK-based online international professional doctorate of Higher Education with students from across the globe, as well as a two-year research project on developing best practice in supporting online international graduate students to engage in virtual learning teams. The theories underpinning the educational use of learning teams are those of constructivism and social learning, all of which suggest a facilitative role for the tutor. However, there is disagreement about what this looks like and what it means for student autonomy and facilitator presence. Many students expect greater tutor involvement, especially when teams are not functioning at an optimal level. The chapter offers both an in-depth discussion of the literature that looks at student and tutor perspectives on virtual team learning,and a summary of findings from a mixed methods research project on students’ needs and tutors’ practice while working in dispersed learning teams. Finally, the chapter draws out implications for the development of e-pedagogy to support learning and engage international learners in online contexts at the graduate level.
Studies in Continuing Education