Forced Disruption of Anatomy Education in Australia and New Zealand: An Acute Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Australian and New Zealand universities commenced a new academic year in February/March 2020 largely with “business as usual.” The subsequent Covid-19 pandemic imposed unexpected disruptions to anatomical educational practice. Rapid change occurred due to government-imposed physical distancing regulations from March 2020 that increasingly restricted anatomy laboratory teaching practices. Anatomy educators in both these countries were mobilized to adjust their teaching approaches. This study on anatomy education disruption at pandemic onset within Australia and New Zealand adopts a social constructivist lens. The research question was “What are the perceived disruptions and changes made to anatomy education in Australia and New Zealand during the initial period of the Covid-19 pandemic, as reflected on by anatomy educators?.” Thematic analysis to elucidate “the what and why” of anatomy education was applied to these reflections. About 18 anatomy academics from ten institutions participated in this exercise. The analysis revealed loss of integrated “hands-on” experiences, and impacts on workload, traditional roles, students, pedagogy, and anatomists' personal educational philosophies. The key opportunities recognized for anatomy education included: enabling synchronous teaching across remote sites, expanding offerings into the remote learning space, and embracing new pedagogies. In managing anatomy education's transition in response to the pandemic, six critical elements were identified: community care, clear communications, clarified expectations, constructive alignment, community of practice, ability to compromise, and adapt and continuity planning. There is no doubt that anatomy education has stepped into a yet unknown future in the island countries of Australia and New Zealand.     

Anatomy "steeplechase" online: necessity sometimes is the catalyst for innovation

In most medical schools, summative practical examination in Anatomy usually takes the format of a “steeplechase” (“spotters” or “bell ringers”) conducted in the gross anatomy laboratory using cadaveric material and prosected specimens. Recently, we have started to administer similar examinations online using the quiz facility in WebCT? and Moodle?. This article chronicles how we conceived and developed this method within the peculiar nature of our medical school setting. Over a five year period, practical summative examinations were organized as “steeplechase” online. The online examinations were administered using WebCT? and later Moodle? learning management software. Assessment “objects” were created from the materials available for anatomy teaching. These were digital images of cadaveric materials, radiological, and prosected specimens. In addition, short video clips of 30 seconds duration demonstrating muscle action were produced. These objects were optimized for online viewing and then uploaded onto the learning management software. A bank of questions (multiple choice or short answer type) was then created and linked to the assessment objects. These were used in place of the steeplechase in the computer laboratory. This method serves a crucial purpose in places like ours where continuous availability of human cadavers is impossible. Although time consuming initially, once questions are setup online, future retrieval, and administration becomes convenient especially where there are large batches of students. In addition, the online environment offers distinct advantages with regards to image quality, psychometric analysis of the examination and reduction of staff preparation time compared to traditional “steeplechase.” Anat Sci Educ 4: 115–118, 2011. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

Moodle在农村中学教育硕士培养中的应用

作为提高农村教师素质所采取的一项重要举措,“农村中学教育硕士师资培养计划”在传统师资培养过程中遇到了诸多难题。如何通过有效途径提高农村教育硕士培养的绩效,这是一项颇为值得反思研究的重要课题,而以Moodle构建的网络学习平台因其所具备的突出应用优势,为我们指明了一条提高培养绩效的新途径。     

Between kudzu and killer apps: Finding human ground between the monoculture of MOOCs and online mechanisms for learning

Although MOOCs have not lived up to previously breathless predictions of disruption, they have had an outsized influence on university administrators who see online learning as a “savior solution” for ever-shrinking budgets. Despite lower student persistent rates, faculty skepticism, and burdensome faculty workloads, the general public and administrative embrace of online learning has been enthusiastic, which may be explained in part using Foucault’s concept of the episteme to view the convergence of the parallel tracks of educational and technological development--the idea of a kind of mechanism for learning. While MOOCs once promised “best professors,” other institutions now promise the “best designed” mechanisms for learning, certified through corporatized quality assurance programs and learning management systems. While this may be appropriate for shopping educational products in a neoliberal marketplace, it seldom addresses human needs. Moreover, the temporal and human constraints that online promises to banish, in fact, continue to exist. Therefore, a more realistic examination of psychological and social factors, pedagogical tools, and the nature of online communication, is needed in order to create a more humane way of teaching, and learning.     

Asia-born New Zealand-educated business graduates' transition to work

In 2008 the Asia New Zealand Foundation commissioned a three-year project examining Asia-born New Zealand-educated business graduates' study to work transitions. Data were collected through annual online surveys and in-depth interviews. Graduates were asked to discuss their post-study experiences, reflections on studying in New Zealand, and perceptions of their New Zealand business education. Participants included 171 (phase one), 76 (phase two) and 41 (phase three) students and recent graduates. All except one were based in New Zealand or the Asia region. In this paper we draw on “engaged pedagogy” and “functional capabilities” perspectives to consider phase two and three participants' accounts of their study to work transition pathways. Specifically, we examine two “functional capabilities” that participants discussed in relation to their post-study experiences: having economic opportunities and developing a sense of affiliation. We highlight some barriers to each “capability” that emerged in participants' accounts and consider how participants envisaged their role in fostering ongoing Asia-New Zealand connections. We conclude with some suggested implications for policy and practice in New Zealand and in internationalized HE more generally.     

Blended learning in higher education: professional development in a Hong Kong university

ABSTRACT

Online learning has become a ubiquitous part of the educational landscape and how teachers are supported in developing approaches to teaching online is a fundamental aspect of the students’ learning experience. Based on the implementation of a professional development course on becoming an online teacher offered in a blended learning mode at one university in Hong Kong, this article proposes that offering this type of professional development in a blended mode is very effective in facilitating enhanced usage of the university’s learning management system. In a blended mode, teachers are actively engaged with blended learning and were found to make more extensive use of features/tools in Blackboard after they attended the professional development course. Results support that offering professional development in a blended mode provides teachers with an authentic student perspective, at the same time as they take guided steps in the teacher’s role in blended learning.     

学习管理系统的社会性交互功能比较——基于对Blackboard、Moodle、Sakai的调查与使用体验

教育信息化的快速发展对技术支持的学习环境提出了更高的要求。学习管理系统集教学、学习与管理功能于一身,为辅助教师开展教学活动,以及实现教学交互提供了有力的技术支持。通过对国际和国内使用较为广泛的Blackboard、Moodle和Sakai三款学习管理系统在社会性交互方面的比较发现,三款学习管理系统在支持学习者与教师间的交互方面主要体现在通知、日程、作业、成绩簿、内置邮件、投票、测验等模块,在支持学习者与学习者间的交互方面主要体现在聊天室、讨论区、Wiki、内置邮件等模块。三款学习管理系统在细节设置上各有特色：Sakai的通知和日历功能最为强大,Moodle和Sakai支持在线协作编辑;Moodle在论坛模块的用户界面呈现良好、使用便捷;Blackboard能够方便地支持用户角色设置。因此,教师在选择学习管理系统时,应充分挖掘各类系统的特色功能,综合运用多种交互工具,整合各种教学系统,使之能更好地促进远程学习者的有效交互和有效学习。     

引领式网络课程:理念及设计

随着信息技术的发展和广泛应用,基于互联网的网络教学得到迅速发展,网络教育模式正经历着从单纯的信息呈现向学习者参与的转变,而如何解决网络教学中存在的导学功能薄弱、资源利用率较低、资源质量欠佳、交互效果不理想等现象,以提高网络教学的质量和网络学习的效果,是广大从事远程网络教学教师关注的问题。因此,近期我校与北京大学教育学院郭文革教授进行了交流,郭教授以北京大学开发的"全国中小学教师教育技术能力建设计划网络培训课程的设计和实施"为例,介绍了采用引领式网络课程,在Moodle平台上构建课程结构和内容,开展网上学习活动、过程性评价、教学管理等情况,阐明要依据成人学习者的需求,用新的理念和方法来设计网络课程。经郭教授同意我们将主要交流内容整理如下,以飨读者。     

Facebook Versus Moodle in Practice

Very few research papers and case studies have shown successful integration of both Facebook and Moodle in the educational experience of students. This study sought to evaluate the educational benefits of the increasingly popular Facebook—which plays an important role in students’ social life as well as their academic life—and to compare it with the widely used course management system Moodle. In this study, the authors surveyed students of the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Organizational Science in Serbia on their attitude toward Facebook and Moodle as productive online tools for teaching and learning. An analysis of the results was carried out using the SPSS software package. The results of this research answer the question of whether or not using Facebook as an educational tool is more effective than using Moodle and how it affects students’ everyday learning activities.     

School leaders’ perceptions on reading,writing and mathematics in innovative learning environments

ABSTRACT

In New Zealand, school buildings are being remodelled to accommodate several teachers and a large number of learners in one flexible learning space. School leaders’ perspectives were sought on what is happening in the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics. Interviews of the principal and deputy principal at a case study were conducted, and an online survey was used to target views of school leaders across New Zealand: completed by 115 principals and 56 deputy principals. The research found positive responses to the implementation of flexible learning spaces and the impact on the teaching of these three core curriculum areas. The findings suggest that given appropriate experience of such spaces, New Zealand principals (school leaders) seem to have the attitudes and understanding to support adoption of Innovative Learning Environments and recognise their potential benefits. However, the quality of teaching was key no matter which learning space was considered. Although Innovative Learning Environments, along with the cooperation between teachers that such spaces require, were seen as beneficial to learning, successful implementation will also require those leading the changes to place the learner as the focus of change, particularly for the substantive percentage of students who are underachieving in reading, writing and mathematics.     

A virtual student: Not an ordinary Joe

Some researchers and educators contend that distance education is the new, student-centered paradigm for future learning and one of the fastest growing areas in education. Despite its continued growth and popularity, distance education suffers from a number of problems. One of the most troubling is a much higher course “dropout” rate in online courses compared to traditional campus-based education. There are a number of factors that contribute to course noncompletion in Web-based distance education: feelings of isolation, frustrations with the technology, anxiety, and confusion. This article provides a discussion on certain tools used by the author to mitigate these negative factors, such as the use of electronic office hours. Explored in depth, however, is a tool that the author has had the most success using in reducing some of the chronic problems that seem to assail students taking online courses. This same tool promotes learner interaction and collaborative learning at a distance. This “magical” tool the author has created for his online classes is a fictitious virtual student who is “not an ordinary Joe.”     

高职院校在线教学校本质量保证体系的研究与实践

疫情危机下高职院校在线教学质量保证主要存在管理制度不够健全,学情分析数据难以把控,线上教学督导面临新的困难,学生学习条件保障困难等问题。应用跨界的全面质量管理理念和教学评价理论,构建“制度+实施+评价”的保证体系。针对在线教学的特征,通过强化质量管理制度建设、优化学情分析结构、创新“云听课”和“云督导”的质量监控模式、推出在线教学示范案例课堂、建立在线教学周月评价机制等方法,形成了校本质量保证体系建设的实践案例。此案例入选全国高职院校“网上金课”教学管理优秀案例。     

Understanding collaborative learning behavior from Moodle log data

Although course management systems (CMSs) were originally designed for teachers to manage their teaching, little interest has been directed at students' learning. Moodle is usually regarded as a CMS. However, how to make full use of its powerful features and design them into learning tools has rarely been investigated. This study investigates two features, embedded in the Moodle system, wiki and assessment tools, to find out how they are designed to support project-based learning. The theory and rationale for using these two features in learning activities are elaborated. The effects of wiki-supported collaboration, peer grading, and feedback on junior secondary students' enquiries in liberal studies are analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. One hundred and eighty-six students participated in the study. Working on their own wikis, commenting on the work of peers, and previous performance on the humanities course were found to be significant predictors of liberal study project performance.     

Enhancing transfer of learning through post-course reflection

Abstract

This article investigates how a structured post-course follow-up reflection activity affects the depth of reflection and facilitates the transfer of learning. The research is reflective, based on the findings from the Action Learning Management Practicum, a 3^rd year paper at Massey University, New Zealand. The initial reflections at the end of the course generally went no deeper than students “noticing”, or “making sense” of the experiences. With the benefit of distance and time away from the course, the students' reflection was deep and insightful. The findings suggest that the post-course reflection activity enables participants to “make meaning” from their experiences with the benefit of time and distance from the initial post-course reflection, thus enhancing the transfer of learning. The article argues for an extension and adaptation to Kolb's “Experiential Learning Cycle” model in relation to the time of reflection based on the empirical evidence provided.     

在教师教育者中创建网上学习社区

网上授课在全球各教育机构尤其是开放和远程学习机构呈迅猛发展的态势。网上学习为远程学习者提供了大量的师生互动、生生互动的机会。他们分享感受,共同协作。通过学习者之间的交互学习,网上学习较独立学习能产生更好的学习效果。斯里兰卡开放大学教育系利用Moodle学习系统开设了“作为教育技术人员的教师教育者”网上课程。课程设计使用协作学习模式,为远程学习者提供了大量积极参与学习过程的机会。学习者借助学习资源和教师的引导完成学习和评估任务,通过讨论会的方式进行协作学习并共同分享感受。本文采用个案研究的方法,对设计者、教师以及学生在网上学习环境中共同加强社区构建所实施的具体策略和技术进行了调查,并进一步探索了社区建设对远程学习者即网上学习的初学者的影响。本文同时讨论了建构网上学习社区的发展进程并强调了设计者、教师和学习者在成功创建网上学习社区中所起的作用。     

PGDnet: a new problem‐solving virtual learning environment

The purpose of this paper was to provide information about the virtual learning environment known as PGDnet (the Spanish acronym for Plataforma de Gestión Docente or Educational Management Platform in English), which was developed by the innovative education group at the Technical University of Madrid known as “Nuevas metodologías docentes en ingeniería mecánica y fabricación” (New Teaching Methodologies in Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing). This tool has been created on an ad hoc basis to cover specific teaching requirements for some engineering courses, which would be difficult to implement on general educational platforms such as Moodle or Blackboard. PGDnet was essentially created as an online engineering problem‐solving tool. These exercises are checked and corrected automatically, providing students with their final and partial scores, and with the solutions to these various sections. A stochastic programming model selects different exercises each time that an activity is performed and attaches the tables, graphs, figures and annexes that are needed for their resolution in each case. As is common with these types of tools, PGDnet provides effective management of publication and delivery dates for the proposed work, and contains records and databases, which allow the stored information to be processed. Its main features include ease of use, reliability and great versatility as a specific tool in the area of technical university education.     

Audio teleconferencing and the adult learner: Strategies for effective practice

Abstract

Audio teleconferencing is a distance learning delivery system that has often been overlooked by educational institutions and other organizations. However, the trend toward adoption of “high‐end” (and high cost) delivery systems is giving way to a new trend toward appropriate selection of a delivery system based on course content, course design, and intended audience. This article takes a close look at audio teleconferencing as a viable option for many distance learning situations, discusses the importance of the audio component in distance learning, and suggests management and delivery strategies for organizations considering this medium.     

Moodle平台在线学习障碍因素分析

本文利用问卷调查和深度访谈的形式对Moodle平台在高校的使用效能进行评估,经过数据分析找出学习者在使用平台过程中的障碍因素并进行深入分析。本文分析了学习者在Moodle平台在线学习中遇到的各种学习障碍,希望可以对于今后Moodle平台的更好推广使用提供参考。     

Juggling competing activities: academic staff as doctoral candidates

ABSTRACT

This article explores the experiences of a group of established academic staff in New Zealand and the UK, as they undertake a doctorate in their home institutions. Our interest is in how individuals negotiate this dual status from a cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) stance that explores how rules, tools, community and divisions of labour, and interacting activity systems, shape doctoral experiences. The focus in this article, having analysed their detailed narrative accounts, is on how academics experience three interdependent activity systems: those surrounding the thesis, the institutional context, and the home-life spheres. Issues related to time, workload and supervision issues, variability in collegial support and impact on personal priorities and time emerged. There is a range of particularities – from easy access to resources/supervisors to inflexible institutional regulations – applicable to this group of doctoral candidates. Negotiating life as an academic with concurrent doctoral candidature provides positive outcomes in terms of teaching, research confidence and general personal and professional development. However, a range of difficulties can also be encountered, particularly in relation to personal and professional relationships, and workload management.     

Bureaucratic Control or Professional Autonomy?: Performance management in New Zealand schools

Since 1997 appraisal has been a mandated requirement of New Zealand schools. While the management of teacher performance is not new, schools are increasingly being faced with difficult and complex decisions regarding accountability mechanisms for teacher performance. Moreover, in a climate of school self-management the potential exists for tensions between bureaucratic systems and the professional autonomy of teachers to surface. This article reports on research conducted in 2001 that investigated teachers' perceptions of the bureaucratic and professional approaches to performance management in their schools. In a climate of increasing control of teachers' work and professional activities by the State, results from recent research indicate that school managers have adopted a professional approach to the appraisal of staff. Moreover the involvement of teachers in developing school-level appraisal systems is pinpointed as fundamental to the long-term success of appraisal in New Zealand schools.