The higher education landscape is embracing the call to be innovative, yet scholars have not clearly defined what it means to innovate. Innovation is not limited to the use and adoption of educational technologies, and it encompasses a broad array of elements that must be considered if we are to truly aspire toward innovative teaching in higher education. Enhancing Learning Design for Innovative Teaching in Higher Education is a critical scholarly publication that examines how instructional systems design, instructional design, educational technologies, curriculum design, and program design impact innovation and innovative teaching in higher education. The book offers definitions of innovative teaching and examines critical intersections to achieve innovation and innovative teaching in post-secondary environments. Highlighting a wide range of topics such as program mapping and learning design, this book is essential for academicians, administrators, professionals, curriculum developers, instructional designers, K-12 teachers, educational technologists, researchers, and students.

The current learning environment is substantially different than what existed for most of the 20th century. Learners and teachers today must navigate in perpetually changing contexts where education is influenced by technological advancement and obsolescence, economic barriers, a changing employment landscape, and even international politics. Studies indicate that employers seek to hire graduates with strong skills in areas coalescing around international awareness, creativity, communication, leadership, and teamwork. Skills and experiences in these areas are necessary preparation for the current economy and to pursue jobs that do not exist yet, while providing some insulation against the obsolescence of industries that lack these characteristics. These interpersonal skills are not often the subject of students’ degrees, yet there are opportunities in online education to cultivate them. With increased interest in new career options comes the need to reconsider how to teach subjects in the increasingly online environment. Advancing Online Course Design and Pedagogy for the 21st Century Learning Environment is a critical reference book that navigates today’s dynamic education requirements and provides examples of how online learning can foster growth in skill areas necessary for career advancement through effective course design. Moreover, it helps educators gain insight into online pedagogy and course design for the 21st century learner and prepares them to convert traditional courses and enhance existing online courses, thereby supporting students’ growth and development in the highly dynamic online learning environment. Focusing on specific learning activities, assessments, engagement, communication techniques, and more, this book provides a valuable resource for those seeking to upgrade teaching and learning into the online environment, those that seek better employment outcomes for their students, and those seeking to explore contemporary online course design strategies or examples. This includes teachers, instructional designers, curriculum developers, academicians, researchers, and students.

This edited book offers an updated insight into a number of key elements of educational leadership and teachers’ professional development topics. The authors believe this book will be of great help and interest to a wide range of readers: policy makers, researchers, school leaders, teachers, under-graduate and post graduate students.

The mission of higher education in the 21st century must focus on optimizing learning for all students. In a shift from prioritizing effective teaching to active learning, it is understood that computer-enhanced environments provide a variety of ways to reach a wide range of learners who have differing backgrounds, ages, learning needs, and expectations. Integrating technology into teaching assumes greater importance to improve the learning experience. Optimizing Higher Education Learning Through Activities and Assessments is a collection of innovative research that explores the link between effective course design and student engagement and optimizes learning and assessments in technology-enhanced environments and among diverse student populations. Its focus is on providing an understanding of the essential link between practices for effective “activities” and strategies for effective “assessments,” as well as providing examples of course designs aligned with assessments, positioning college educators both as leaders and followers in the cycle of lifelong learning. While highlighting a broad range of topics including collaborative teaching, active learning, and flipped classroom methods, this book is ideally designed for educators, curriculum developers, instructional designers, administrators, researchers, academicians, and students.

Most people recognize the importance of inclusive education and hope to promote it everywhere at all levels and situations in education. However, the road to realizing this ideal is by no means a smooth one; due to this, further study is required. Building Inclusive Education in K-12 Classrooms and Higher Education: Theories and Principles discusses various inclusive practices in K-12 classrooms and higher education all over the world and presents problems and challenges that educators are struggling to overcome. Covering key topics such as educational technology, global movement, and inclusive education, this major reference work is ideal for administrators, policymakers, industry professionals, researchers, academicians, scholars, practitioners, instructors, and students.

Active blended learning (ABL) is a pedagogical approach that combines sensemaking activities with focused interactions in appropriate learning settings. ABL has become a great learning tool as it is easily accessible online, with digitally rich environments, close peer and tutor interactions, and accommodations per individual learner needs. It encompasses a variety of concepts, methods, and techniques, such as collaborative learning, experiential learning, problem-based learning, team-based learning, and flipped classrooms. ABL is a tool used by educators to develop learner autonomy, engaging students in knowledge construction, reflection, and critique. In the current educational climate, there is a strong case for the implementation of ABL. Cases on Active Blended Learning in Higher Education explores strategies and methods to implement ABL in higher education. It will provide insights into teaching practice by describing the experiences and reflections of academics from around the world. The chapters analyze enablers, barriers to engagement, outcomes, implications, and recommendations to benefit from ABL in different contexts, as well as associated concepts and models. While highlighting topics such as personalized university courses, remote service learning, team-based learning, and universal design, this book is ideal for in-service and preservice teachers, administrators, instructional designers, teacher educators, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in pedagogical approaches aligned to ABL and how this works in higher education institutions.

Chinese universities are striving to integrate new educational elements such as student-centered learning, group learning, active learning, and learning by doing into current traditional curriculum systems for creativity development among young generations. However, the concept of creativity by its very nature is a complex term of many perspectives. It is necessary to clarify what creativity is, how creativity can be fostered in learning environments, and what universities should do in order to foster creative young talents. Introducing Problem-Based Learning (PBL) for Creativity and Innovation in Chinese Universities: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a critical scholarly resource that provides a multidimensional understanding on both challenges and opportunities of fostering creativity and PBL in Chinese universities and particularly discusses this implementation in a Chinese cultural context. Though related to a Chinese cultural context, the book can inspire other universities in other cultures, particularly in Asian areas, to learn why PBL is a potential strategy for creativity development and to rethink how to facilitate the innovation capability of universities in the future. Featuring a wide range of topics such as course design, educational technology, and curriculum development, this book is ideal for education professionals, academicians, teaching professors, researchers, administrators, and students.

As new technologies and professional profiles emerge, traditional education paradigms have to be adapted to new scenarios, creating favorable conditions for promoting transversal skills among students. Consequently, there is a growing demand for training in emergent skills to solve problems of different natures, distributive leadership competencies, empathy, ability to control emotions, etc. In this sense, one of the challenges that educators of all different educational levels and training contexts have to face is to foster these skills in their courses. To overcome these obstacles, innovative and disruptive methodologies, such as game-based learning activities like escape rooms, can be a great ally for teachers to work on transversal skills and specific knowledge at the same time. The Handbook of Research on Using Disruptive Methodologies and Game-Based Learning to Foster Transversal Skills gathers knowledge, skills, abilities, and capabilities on innovative and disruptive methodologies that can be applied in all educational levels to foster transversal skills. This publication contains different contributions focused on the description of innovative educational methods, processes, and tools that can be adopted by teachers to promote transversal skills such as creativity, critical thinking, decision-making, and entrepreneurial skills. This book is ideal for teachers, instructional designers, educational software developers, academics, professionals, students, and researchers working at all levels in the educational field and provides valuable background information to professionals who aim to overcome traditional paradigm obstacles and meet student needs by means of innovative and disruptive methodologies.

With the resurgence of race-related incidents nationally and on college campuses in recent years, acts of overt racism, hate crimes, controversies over free speech, and violence continue to impact institutions of higher education. Such incidents may impact the overall campus racial climate and result in a racial crisis, which is marked by extreme tension and instability. How institutional leaders and the campus community respond to a racial crisis along with the racial literacy demands of the campus leaders can have as much of an effect as the crisis itself. As such, 21st century university leaders must become more emotionally intelligent and responsive to emergent campus issues. Improving campus climate is hard, and to achieve notable gains, higher education professionals will have to reimagine how they approach this work with equity-influenced practices and transformative leadership. The Handbook of Research on Leading Higher Education Transformation With Social Justice, Equity, and Inclusion offers a window into understanding the deep intersections of identity and professional practice as well as guideposts for individual leadership development during contested times. The chapters emphasize how identity manifests in the way we lead, supervise, make decisions, persuade, form relationships, and negotiate responsibilities each day. In this book, the authors provide insight, examples, and personal narratives that explore how their identities, lens, and commitments shaped their leadership and supported their courageous acts for equity and social justice. It provides practical tools that leaders can draw on to inform sustainable equity and inclusion-focused practices and policies on college campuses and will discuss important campus climate issues and ways to address them. This book is a valuable reference work for higher education administrators, policymakers, leaders, managers, university presidents, social justice advocates, practitioners, faculty, researchers, academicians, and students who are interested in higher education leadership practices that support and promote social justice, equity, and inclusion.

There is growing pressure on teachers and faculty to understand and adopt best practices to work with diverse races, cultures, and languages in modern classrooms. Establishing sound pedagogy is also critical given that racial, cultural, and linguistic integration has the potential to increase academic success for all learners. To that end, there is also a need for educators to prepare graduates who will better meet the needs of culturally diverse learners and help their learners to become successful global citizens. The Handbook of Research on Diversity and Social Justice in Higher Education is a cutting-edge research book that examines cross-cultural perspectives, challenges, and opportunities pertaining to advancing diversity and social justice in higher education. Furthermore, the book explores multiple concepts of building a bridge from a monocultural pedagogical framework to cross-cultural knowledge through appropriate diversity education models as well as effective social justice practices. Highlighting a range of topics such as cultural taxation, intercultural engagement, and teacher preparation, this book is essential for teachers, faculty, academicians, researchers, administrators, policymakers, and students.