Teaching and Learning in Saudi Arabia

Teaching and Learning in Saudi Arabia
Author: Amani K Hamdan
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2015-12-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9463002057

Saudi Arabia is witnessing unprecedented progress in the field of higher education. Even though the country opened its first university in 1957, so far there seems to be little English scholarly writing about Saudi education in general and higher education in particular. The current expansion of Saudi Arabia’s higher-education system has put a spotlight on this serious gap in the international literature. This book helps to fill this lacuna through the work of 16 scholars who have contributed to the development of the Saudi education system. In so doing, the book reveals areas where more research is required and thus provides a useful starting point for education scholars. This anthology is unique in that it is the first to offer a comprehensive perspective on the current knowledge base pertaining to Saudi higher education as well as to the ongoing efforts to introduce reforms.

Using Social Media in Flipped Classrooms in Saudi Universities

Using Social Media in Flipped Classrooms in Saudi Universities
Author: Majed Abdallah Alharthi
Publisher:
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2018
Genre: Educational technology
ISBN:

Traditional education is no longer viable at the present time. In light of technological development and the adoption of a number of diverse technologies in the field of education, the student has become a vital element in learning through student-centered learning environments. Saudi universities are striving diligently to keep up with the technological development and the employment of modern trends in the educational process through the gradual merging of interactive learning methods or strategies, such as the flipped classroom, active learning, cooperative learning, etc. The flipped classroom plays an important role in enhancing the positive role of the learner during the educational process by providing the students with content before the lecture by the use of technology and exploiting class time in debates, problem-solving, creating, synthesizing, and applying. There are many various technology tools and online platforms that can be used in implementing the flipped classroom, such as Blackboard LMS, Google Docs, Wikis, blogs, Facebook, etc. Also, there are a number of advanced countries that have implemented flipped classrooms by the use of various technology tools and social platforms. For example, in Saudi Arabia, Al-Harbi & Alshumaimeri (2016) applied the flipped classroom approach by uploading videos on the Edmodo site. Therefore, this study focused on faculty members' experiences in using social media as a flipped classroom tool in Saudi Universities. The study addressed four main questions that focused on: faculty members' experiences in using social media in teaching in Saudi universities, faculty members' attitudes towards using social media in flipped classrooms, exploring how faculty members in Saudi universities use social media as a flipped classroom tool to address students' learning preferences per the R2D2 framework, and factors that prevent or limit Saudi faculty's social media uses in flipped classrooms.