FAKULTI PENDIDIKAN UTM

ARTICLE REVIEW ON INNOVATION IN

TEACHING AND LEARNING

MPPU1003
INNOVATION IN TEACHING AND LEARNING

NAME

: NATASHA BINTI MOHAMAD IDRIS

I/C

: 880910-11-5754

MATRIC NO: MPP141259

Introduction
The importance of innovation in teaching and learning nowadays cannot be argued anymore. To
chase the globalization and knowledge without edge making all peoples become thirsty and craving more
for it to have a step further than other people. Each country including Malaysia does not want to miss out
every single thing on development of the world sophistication today. Thinking of innovation, innovate
means literally to bring in or introduce something new, some new idea, method or device. But innovation
has a wider concept and has certain important facets. In particular it combines two major overlapping
processes of it which is having new ideas and implementing them. In other words, even for every small
idea or any changes that makes and implementing it for a better future is also considered as innovation.
Each of these articles is published outside the Malaysia. This critical review will examine three different
articles on this issue and evaluate their contents based on a set of criteria. Each of articles has their own
idea and support point of view. The authors discuss and stressed on creating some ideas and others for a
better teaching and learning environment in school and higher education. Two articles are well written
with their supporting details and solution that may be implemented, and the other one include their
research and give just a little point of view of solution.

Summary
First, the summary of this article In Learning and Teaching Innovation: Creating An Inspirational
Learning Community, by Alison Halstead (Aston University) has focus about implementation of
technology to enhance teaching and learning and emphasize the importance of innovation towards
creating a meaningful learning and excellent teaching environment around United Kingdom (UK). This
research also create a few strategic plan to create an inspirational learning community for all staff and
students on past years 2008-2012 and the plan is still being used and being practice until now at the Aston
University.
In this article, they are focusing on innovation in teaching and learning on the higher education
(HE) and share the benefit to community such as colleges and school. For example, Library and
Information Services at Aston work closely with the schools and departments to support the staff and
students through the range of electronic resources. Many interesting projects also have been conducted
with real benefits to the subject groups involved and most of it has been at school level with occasional
good practice days for wider sharing.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) also has developed a ten-year
strategy to integrate e-learning so that all universities and colleges will make the best use of information
and communication technologies (ICT) in their learning and teaching. To make all this happen, Aston
University has provided the main support for the exploration of learning technologies especially on the
staffs. That is because if the staffs are clear about their role and feel empowered, they will and can help on
providing a learning environment that compatible with flexible delivery options to enhance student
learning in the best way.
Other than that, to wider the sharing, promoting and provide the opportunity of successful
participation in higher education to everyone who can benefit from it, they also suggesting on creating a
committee that will helps and leading on innovation in teaching and learning in school that led by Aston
University Associate Dean.

The plans include the development of new curriculum, evaluation of

formative and summative assessment approaches, and research projects to enhance the learning and

teaching experience. The schools have to empower their school teams with the help from the appointed
innovators in Aston University Associate Dean.
In summary, innovation in the context of Aston is all about valuing and profiling the work and
ideas of the teaching and support staff, to enable developments and promote and support ideas, in all
aspects of the learning and teaching strategy. For example in curriculum delivery, implementing and
evaluating new learning technologies, rewarding staff, learning and teaching research that has measurable
impact on learners achievement.
The second article, Whose interests count? The university under pressure to keep abreast of
national developments in technology-enhanced learning by Dr. Berenice Rivera and Uwe Matthias
Ritchter from Anglia Ruskin University is discussing about adoption of technology-enhanced or elearning in higher education (HE) which can be considered as innovation in teaching and learning for a
better future of teaching and learning. Eventhough this article is focusing more towards the HE, but it is
still telling the readers what is dilemma and difficulties, the pros and cons that every each of people
involve especially the students and staffs face throughout the innovation in teaching and learning when it
want to be implemented. The finding of this article is challenging the universitys and government policy
targets.
For this, they have come out with a few researches on HE sector, responses from 92 universities
and also by online surveys towards staff and students. The author says that nowadays technology is a
normal part of students everyday live. They are living with more gadgets around so the using of elearning as technology-enhanced learning is no longer awkward and enable them to experience on
managing their own learning. The authors also state that there are still few challenges to face such
provision of support for students and teachers growing use of streaming media, web 2.0 and many more.
All of this actually needs the staff development and strategies in order to achieve it. Attention also needs
to be given to sustain the distant students needs because their academic and professional success relies
completely on the adequate of support through technology-enhanced learning.

The implementation of e-learning somehow has a lot of issues and constraints too. Many staffs,
students and institutions still find the technology-enhanced learning and teaching is a challenge. In other
words, the provision and success of technology-enhanced learning depends in the flexibility that it offers
to meet the variety of needs.
The third article, on Innovations in Learning and Teaching Approaches using Game Technologies
Can The Movies teach how to make a movie? by Ryan Flynn and Nigel Newbutt, says that the use
of game to aid learning and improve achievement is being used because traditional method of engagement
are currently failing on some levels. The authors using game as their innovation in teaching and learning
research because they believe this will help students to foster an environment of using the game as
supplement to learning. They will learn to structure a way and relate their learning to real-world
problems. To make the aim achieve, they had come into an idea to use a game called The Movie created
by Lionhead Studios. The game played is to see arent the students structure any learning experience,
engage them and gain their motivation in learning.
In conclusion, the use of the games in teaching to enhanced learning could have clear benefits and
improve achievement for students. However, the author say, the use of games in teaching and learning
still have to think further if it is want to be implemented in the curriculum because it could have another
issues and a wider social view to consider.

Critique
All three of these articles, have similar thinking of how to make the teaching and learning be
meaningful. All of them also agreed by having an innovation in teaching and learning can make an
education better in many ways hence can give benefit to community too.
Firstly, the author believes that on creating an inspirational learning community is one of the great
teaching and learning innovation. Besides, it also stressed on organizational development for making all
target achievable. Secondly, to keep education abreast with national development in technology-enhanced
learning, there are some pressures towards the higher learning community. This article also state point of
view from variety of sources while searching the best way for making teaching and learning innovate. In
the third article, Ryan Flynn and Nigel Newbutt is using game technology as innovation in their teaching
and learning for making meaningful and fun learning.
UNITY OF STUDENTS, STAFF AND FACULTY
For the first article, the author mostly state about empowerment of organizational development in
making innovation in teaching and learning successful and more variety in strategy and method whether
in the higher education or schools. Instead of focusing on students benefits only, they also looking up on
appreciating, rewarding, valuing and profiling any work and ideas of the teaching and support staff to
enable the successful of development and innovation.
This higher education also wants to form a centre for learning, innovation and professional
practice to support the schools in the implementation and embedding the strategy. For example, many
interesting projects have been conducted with real benefits to the subject group involves and most of the
work are running at the school level with occasional good practice days for wider sharing. Library and
Information Services at University Aston also work closely with the schools and departments to support
the staff and students through the electronic resources.
The system that has been created also went live and starts fast because the optimism from the
organization is high. The reason for such a quick and effective implementation was because the senior
management support and resource single project leadership and the creation of diverse team from the

schools and service departments who were aware of the local needs. The establishment of the diverse
team has aid creativity and provides good leadership and support for the school action plans and the more
general implementation of the learning and teaching strategy as well.
ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED LEARNING
Second, the authors are using the case study to explore existing tensions in implementing
technology-enhanced learning between national expectation and the local experience of developing a
virtual higher education. They are arguing that the United Kingdom (UK) system is often experienced as
higher education and further education are under pressure to manage and achieve the expectation and
visions set by the sectors leading and funding bodies. They come out with a report on findings from their
research by several resources such as online surveys towards staff and students that have actual
experience of this technology-enhanced learning.
The findings included the effectiveness and weaknesses of technology-enhanced learning
implementation in teaching and learning and the research reveals that it has more weaknesses than it
strengths. The authors also stressed on the development of staff to make this technology-enhanced
learning achieve their goals. As mention by Pollock (2000:263), to achieve the implementation and
widespread use of an e-learning and e-teaching system through an institutional VLE requires the
engagement of key staff capable of adequately transmitting the practicalities of the system in contrast
with non-virtual learning and teaching. Browne et al (2008: 27), said that they found more work needs to
be done to motivate and involve more members of staff in technology-enhanced learning as a good
practice and experiences in it.
SUPPLEMENT FOR LEARNING
The articles by Ryan Flynn and Nigel Newbutt is discussing that does games can support learners
in education and the use of games in education. The authors using games technology in their research in
teaching and learning to give the experience and let students think out of box while relating their learning
to real-world problem. The reason on using games technology is to improve students achievement
instead of using traditional method which is currently failing on some levels. By using games technology

as innovation in teaching and learning can avoid passive experience for the students thus will enhance
their learning process.
NESTA (2006) report points out by stating that 91% (of teachers) felt that players developed
their motor-cognitive skills, while over 60% thought that users would develop their higher order thinking
skills and could also acquire topic-specific knowledge. This support that using games to aid teaching is
something that can develop higher order thinking skills and also improving self assessment.
Ryan Flynn and Nigel Newbutt in their article also said to implement a game in the teaching and
learning will have various considerations and challenges. At some levels it could be a parental concern,
teachers time and difficulty and wider social view to consider. Despite of that, the authors are still
confident and believe that is possible to integrate gaming technology into the lesson.
Although all of these articles offer well-supported arguments, they also have weaknesses. Most of
the articles are deeply into technologies when it comes to innovation in teaching and learning whereas
there are much more than those to innovate such as make any changes by looking up at the strategy or
other methods.
From the first article, there are all good about the idea especially on empowering the
organizational development, technologies and creating a committee that wills definitely helping to
innovate thus enhance the teaching and learning in higher education and schools as stated in Alison
Halstead article. But the plans that they use in the research are using money, technology such internet
access and human resource too much to make it works and runs as planned.
In other hand, not all the institution and school can really afford this fully especially the rural area.
So that, it will cost a lots and takes a longer time to make changes on this area and decrease the gap
between rural and urban area. Starting from the technology has been implemented in the classroom, there
are so many issues related to technology have existed and up until now the issues are still does not have
an end. It require knowledgeable staff and a critical evaluation of technology resources (Adel ALBataineh and Leanne Brooks, 2003).

Furthermore, in second article written by Dr. Berenice Rivera Macias and Uwe Matthias Ritcher
also stated that their findings are challenging the universitys and the governments policy targets because
their research are all about how challenging and hard to implement technology-enhanced learning around
UK. Eventhough UK is such an urban country but it still has issues and constraints about this.
Their findings and surveys towards technology-enhanced learning such as virtual learning (VLE)
and e-learning has been listed more weaknesses than the strength. The disadvantages have more than
advantages. This is crucial because it will affect the students learning and the interaction between learners
and this technology support learning. However, whatever it is, as a community in the country, we have to
try our best to support any changes for good.
Lack of solid solution appears in Ryann Flynn and Nigel Newbutt article because even they are
very positive towards using games technology as an innovation in teaching and learning, but they does
not provide such a concrete solution for it to implement in the curriculum and classroom. Ryann and
Nigel only state the challenge that we might face if we want to implement the games technology into
teaching and learning but not giving any suggestion to solve it. The authors keep repeating about taking
various considerations and challenges in the implementation using a game in teaching.
According to 2010 Horizon Report, through games students can experience the struggles and
successes while working towards solution to a complex problem but with interesting storyline. This can
make learners relate with real-world problems hence adding their meaningful learning.

Conclusion
This critical review are considering of three different articles. All articles are focusing on
innovation in learning and teaching but in various ways. Alison Halstead in the article focusing on
importance of innovation in teaching and learning in terms of permission to innovate, support for
innovation and senior management agreement and resources for innovation.
In Dr. Berenice Rivera Macias and Uwe Matthias Richter article are argued that the UK system is
an experienced as a policy driven system because the pressure that further education and higher education
has to bear for implementing technology-enhanced learning. While the Alison Halstead article is
supporting the use of technology to enhance learning, this article brings out some other perspective that
we rarely see why they are argued the use of technology in teaching and learning.
While the last article by Ryan Flynn and Nigel Newbutt is focusing game technologies on
innovation in teaching and learning. But the author is not really confident to implement it because they
are focusing on too many challenges and various considerations. It is good to have all these articles so
that readers can take what is good to implement and used for making an innovation in their teaching and
learning to make every learning more effective and meaningful considering their situation needs.

References
Alison Halstead (2008). Learning and teaching innovation: Creating an inspirational learning
community. Retrieved from http:
http://journals.heacademy.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.11120/elss.2008.01020006
Dr Berenice Rivera Macias, Uwe Matthias Richter. (2009). Whose interests count? The university under
pressure to keep abreast of national developments in technology-enhanced learning. Retrieved
from http://journals.heacademy.ac.uk/doi/abs/10.11120/elss.2009.01030007
Ryan Flynn and Nigel Newbutt. (2006). Innovations in Learning and Teaching Approaches using Game
Technologies Can The Movies teach how to make a movie?. Innovation in Teaching and
Learning in Information and Computer Sciences 5(3), doi: 10.11120/ital.2006.05030002
Adel AL-Bataineh, Leanne Brooks. (2003). Challenges, Advantages, And Disadvantages Of Instructional
Technology

In

The

Community

College

Classroom.

Retrieved

http://faculty.education.illinois.edu/abenson/472cc/w4articles/al_bataineh.pdf
Occupytheory. (2014). Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology in Education. Retrieved from
http://occupytheory.org/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-technology-in-education/

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