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- Creating collaborative research opportunities at a distance: from Porto to Cluj-NapocaPublication . Melo, Carla; Vasconcelos, Sandra; Liberato, Dália; Silva, Cândida; Amaral, Paula; Negrușa, Adina Letiția; Cosma, Smaranda Adina; Fleșeriu, CristinaFocusing on an Interdisciplinary Project (IP) involving Higher Education Institutions from Portugal (School of Hospitality and Tourism – Polytechnic Institute of Porto) and Romania (Faculty of Business – Babeş-Bolyai University), this short paper describes a joint project developed by tourism students attending tourism courses at both institutions. This project, which concentrated on the cities of Porto (Portugal) and Cluj-Napoca (Romania), involved different courses and set out to identify motivations, attitudes and perceptions of generation Z tourists, by collaboratively designing, applying and analyzing a joint questionnaire for each destination. Relying heavily on a technology-mediated, innovative approach that focuses on problem-solving, collaboration and communication skills, this paper draws on literature, field observation and informal feedback to give a general overview of the teaching and learning strategies used throughout the project and describe its implementation. Based on these premises, and taking into account the challenges currently being faced by HEI and the need to further enhance students’ learning experience and promote an articulated development of skills that meet the needs of an increasingly digital workplace, this project provides a practical framework for other initiatives within this scope, thus making a viable and constructive contribution towards educational innovation, particularly in the field of tourism education.
- Fostering student agency in tourism education: examples from the Tourism and Hospitality fieldPublication . Vasconcelos, Sandra; Melo, António; Melo, Carla; Mouta, CristinaFocusing on the development of student agency within the scope of tourism education, the following paper outlines different interdisciplinary, student-centred initiatives, briefly describing their design, implementation and assessment and reflecting on how they can enhance student involvement and overall engagement. These initiatives, which include the development of a digital platform (blog), featuring student-generated content, examples of context-based simulated activities and an interdisciplinary project involving two different courses and an external partner (Village Tourism Association), offer an alternative to traditional lectures, relying both on Project-Based Learning (PBL) and group work, as ways of addressing real- world challenges and promoting 21st century skills, particularly flexibility, teamwork and creativity. Furthermore, by involving students in dialogic processes, which required them to look for (rather than just receive) feedback from different sources, at different times, crosscutting it with their personal experiences and contexts, the projects have also promoted accountability and autonomy, moving beyond the scope of specific tasks, and becoming catalysts for skill transferability and hands-on experiential and simulated-based learning. Based on observation, documentary research, content analysis and questionnaires applied to the students, the paper establishes the importance of interdisciplinarity, collaboration and simulation as key components of teaching and learning experiences. Moreover, by sharing what could be considered best practices for tourism education, it also supports and informs practitioners and researchers, leveraging future initiatives.
- In_Spire: fostering pedagogical innovation in tourism educationPublication . Vasconcelos, Sandra; Melo, Carla; Melo, António; Mouta, Cristina; Silva, José António; Ferreira, Fernanda A.; Monteiro, BebianaThis paper aims to establish a didactical framework that can scaffold the adoption of experiential approaches in Tourism and Hospitality Higher Education (THHE). Having been developed in the context of the collaborative project In_Spire – Sharing Best Practices in Tourism Education – it draws on a systematic literature review, putting forward a model that supports the creation of a toolkit for tourism educators and the sharing of innovative pedagogical practices. In addition to reflecting on the affordances of experiential learning, this review will set the foundations for the toolkit, whose main goals include the dissemination of good practices, the enhancement of teacher training and the development of a dynamic repository of annotated resources for THHE, paving the way for future work, leveraging pedagogical innovation within this scope.
- Designing a toolkit for tourism educators: from paper to actionPublication . Vasconcelos, Sandra; Melo, Carla; Melo, AntónioTeaching practical and transversal skills is a key component within Tourism Education (TE), not only because of its service-oriented nature, but also due to the fact that most programs include some sort of practical component, ranging from classes and seminars to workshops and work placements (Chandra et al., 2022). On the other hand, with TE being a fairly recent area, particularly in Higher Education, where it has become the object of an ongoing discussion regarding academic and vocational streams, teacher training and development is increasingly being perceived as a challenge, thus creating a need for initiatives that address these issues (George, 2007). Based on this premise and focusing on the concept of Experiential Learning, this paper aims to outline the design phases of a Toolkit to support educators and practitioners currently working in Tourism Higher Education, highlighting its key areas of application, and reflecting on its potential. In addition to presenting the rationale behind the project, the authors will put forward the different sections of the toolkit, which will include guidelines, expected outcomes, sample lesson plans and a list of annotated resources, as well as overall reflections based on their application. Stemming from an interdisciplinary collaboration from educators currently working on different programs and industry subsectors (i.e., accommodation, catering, travel agencies, tour operators, etc…), this toolkit will integrate contributions from different fields and reflect different educational approaches and activities, including simulation, project-based learning and role-playing activities. As a result, it will reflect hands-on experiences, being consistent with current best-practice and action-based research approaches.