Following a 10‐Step Procedure to Evaluate the Administrative Services Qualification Card Program

In this article, the authors describe a 10‐step procedure for conducting program evaluation in the human performance improvement (HPI) context, followed by a case study illustrating the procedure taken and outcomes produced. A team of graduate students at Boise State University completed an evaluation study of an administrative services qualification card program in a not‐for‐profit organization by following the 10‐step evaluation procedure. The end result was a set of evidence‐based recommendations focused on improving the quality of the program.     

Interdisciplinary In‐service at the University: a participatory case‐based model for professional development

Abstract

The Participatory Case‐Based Model for Professional Development is an in‐service model which is useful across the human service disciplines (social work, occupational therapy, public health, special education, early childhood and family education). In the model, participants enrolled in a graduate course engage in dialogue and perspective‐taking, through case analysis and case writing. Using grounded theory and inductive data analyses, the major effects of this professional development model were studied. These effects included: (1) gaining new knowledge; (2) ‘really seeing’ from multiple perspectives; and (3) developing a sense of support, renewal and networking across various professions. Connections to the selected professional development literature —; problem‐based learning, case process and effects, and the practical argument model — offered affirmations and challenges to the Participatory Case‐Based Model for Professional Development     

An examination of the role of values in working‐class students' career decision‐making

The literature suggests that members of the working class value informal (‘hot’) information rather than formal (‘cold’) information. They are also said to lack a future orientation; have a fatalistic (and pessimistic) attitude to life; and have low aspirations. These values should influence the way students from working‐class backgrounds approach career decision‐making. Thirty in‐depth interviews with full‐time undergraduates in their final year of study were carried out to find out if this was the case. The research found that students from working‐class backgrounds did not possess many of the values indicated in the literature. They did, however, show a reluctance to make use of formal sources of information from places like the university careers service. Their failure to utilise such sources appears to be a key factor contributing to significant gaps in the students' knowledge and understanding of the graduate labour market. It also means they are inadequately prepared for making the transition into graduate employment. The article concludes by suggesting that the provision of better careers information is not enough. There is a need to make university careers services more welcoming so that they become a source of ‘hot’ information. The article also suggests that students should be encouraged to reflect critically on how they undertake career decision‐making and planning. By getting students to engage in activities that challenge their taken‐for‐granted assumptions and biases, they are more likely to develop alternative approaches to career decision‐making.     

Preparing for educare: student perspectives on early years training in Northern Ireland

Preschool provision in Northern Ireland is government funded and quality assured in all statutory sector settings (nursery schools and units) and in many voluntary/private sector settings (playgroups and daycare facilities). However, three unresolved policy issues continue to divide the sectors: the choices between a teacher or pedagogue role model, graduate or vocational level training, and a competency or reflective model of training. This paper aims to explore the reflections of a sample of students from both graduate and vocational early years training courses on the content and effectiveness of their training in order to inform the broader early years professionalism debate. The design of the research combines quantitative and qualitative approaches, with the data collection methods consisting of questionnaire survey (n = 282) and semi‐structured interviews (n = 22). Findings reveal broad agreement on the part of students, literature and government policy on the essential elements of early years training content; however, weaknesses in all training courses are detected in regard to preparation for significant areas of professional practice.     

Writing Approaches of Graduate Students

The writing approach framework provides a comprehensive perspective on college‐level academic writing based on the relationship of writers’ beliefs and strategies to the quality of written outcomes. However, despite increased demands for more and better writing at the graduate level, little is known about graduate‐level writing processes or about the beliefs of graduate students regarding writing. The goals of this project were the preliminary development of a factor analytic model of graduate writing processes, and of an inventory to measure writing strategies. The results support seven independent factors: elaborative, low self‐efficacy, no revision, intuitive, scientist, task‐oriented, and sculptor, with the intuitive factor predictive of an academic writing outcome. Suggestions are advanced for classroom instruction and for further research.     

Class Level as a Possible Mediator of the Relationship between Grades and Student Ratings of Teaching

Although the research literature investigating the relationship between grade awarded to students and students’ evaluations of teaching performance is voluminous, very few studies have examined the grade‐rating relationship according to level of student. The present study examined correlations between mean instructor rating and mean class grade for all course evaluations (N = 625 classes) at Utah State University during an academic quarter. In lower‐division (courses 100–299) and upper‐division (courses 300–599) undergraduate classes, correlations between grades and ratings of faculty were of an expected direction and magnitude (0.29 and 0.28, respectively); however, the grade‐rating correlation for graduate classes (courses 600 +) was — 0.20. It is speculated that graduate students are both better students and more critical evaluators of instruction, but replication and extension with different samples are needed before this tentative explanation can be accepted with confidence.     

Using the Attribute Hierarchy Method to Make Diagnostic Inferences about Examinees’ Cognitive Skills in Critical Reading

The purpose of this study is to apply the attribute hierarchy method (AHM) to a subset of SAT critical reading items and illustrate how the method can be used to promote cognitive diagnostic inferences. The AHM is a psychometric procedure for classifying examinees’ test item responses into a set of attribute mastery patterns associated with different components from a cognitive model. The study was conducted in two steps. In step 1, three cognitive models were developed by reviewing selected literature in reading comprehension as well as research related to SAT Critical Reading. Then, the cognitive models were validated by having a sample of students think aloud as they solved each item. In step 2, psychometric analyses were conducted on the SAT critical reading cognitive models by evaluating the model‐data fit between the expected and observed response patterns produced from two random samples of 2,000 examinees who wrote the items. The model that provided best data‐model fit was then used to calculate attribute probabilities for 15 examinees to illustrate our diagnostic testing procedure.     

Modelling graduate skill transfer from university to the workplace

This study explores skill transfer in graduates as they transition from university to the workplace. Graduate employability continues to dominate higher education agendas yet the transfer of acquired skills is often assumed. The study is prompted by documented concern with graduate performance in certain employability skills, and prevalent skill gaps across developed economies. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM), it models skill transfer in 674 business graduates from 39 different Australian universities. Findings support extant literature with the three areas of learner, learning programme and workplace characteristics influencing transfer. The model highlights the need for a more process-oriented, rather than outcomes-focused, approach to the acquisition and transfer of skills in graduates and the shared responsibility of transfer among stakeholder groups. There is a lack of variation among different graduate groups which suggests a generic model of skill transfer and intervention strategies for educators and employers may be implemented as bestpractice. Ultimately, graduate employers will enhance their investment return on new recruits; educators are more likely to achieve goals of work readiness; and individuals will benefit from career progression and intangible rewards associated with improved performance.     

Challenges confronting beginning researchers in conducting literature reviews

Conducting literature review is a complicated, sometimes confusing and laborious process that beginning educational researchers, especially graduate students, often find challenging. However, in the past these challenges were hardly considered, but in more recent times they have been increasingly considered by various faculties and graduate schools due to the expanding needs from growing enrolments. To further develop and strengthen the responses to these identified needs, this article reviews literature concerning challenges faced by beginning educational researchers in conducting literature review, aiming to help unpack this complicated phenomenon by constructing a coherent story. Based on our review, we propose a framework to conceptualize four types of challenges. We term them LMCO (linguistic, methodological, conceptual, and ontological) challenges. Discussions centers on the four identified challenges, recommendations for future studies and implications to graduate preparatory programs.     

加强实验课教学改革提升研究生科研能力—以中国地质大学（北京）“显微构造地质学”课程改革为例

实验课是研究生实践教学中值得重视的环节。本文探讨了地质学领域中“显微构造地质学”实验课的教学方法。主要从研究生的课程授课对象的差异性出发,编排循序渐进式的教学内容,取得了较好的教学效果。因此,认为该科目的实践教学必须采用循序渐进式的教学方法。最后,提出研究生课程改革应兼顾科学性和艺术性的原则。     

Flattened Hierarchy Through Drama-Based Pedagogy: A Graduate Student Instructor and Two Undergraduates Partner on Classroom Research

In this paper, the authors describe their journey from a teacher-student relationship to that of research partners and co-authors, thus providing a case study situated within the literature on students as partners. The instructor's use of drama-based pedagogy organically facilitated this journey both by flattening the hierarchy between teacher and students, and by being the subject under study. As a research group, the authors designed and collaborated on a scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) project. They analyzed existing classroom data to study the effects of drama-based pedagogy on their classroom environment and presented findings at conferences and through publication. This collaboration between a graduate student instructor and her undergraduate learners benefited all parties from both research and professionalization perspectives, which mirrors positive outcomes in the students as partners literature. The partnership can thus serve as a model for similar partnerships with minimal institutional infrastructure. Graduate students become research mentors and gain greater access to their students' classroom experiences, while undergraduate students explore the next step of an academic career track by conducting and disseminating original research as equal partners. The authors highlight reciprocity in their collaboration and call on institutions to facilitate this kind of partnership with funding and institutional support.     

Examining workload models in online and blended teaching

Over the past decade, most Australian universities have moved increasingly towards “blended” and online course delivery for both undergraduate and graduate programs. In almost all cases, elements of online teaching are part of routine teaching loads. Yet detailed and accurate workload data associated with “e‐teaching” are not readily available. A search of the international literature indicated that there is limited rigorous literature and research that points to the actual effects on workload in online and blended higher education teaching environments. This paper reports on a research project in four Australian universities, and the perceptions of a representative group of staff who perceived that e‐teaching had increased their “teaching time” workload, and that Workload Allocation Models (WAMs) did not take account of contemporary teaching modalities.     

Assessing the impact of the Graduate Certificate in Anatomical Sciences Instruction: A post‐degree survey

There are few graduate programs available for pursuing a doctorate in anatomy where students gain specific training in gross anatomy dissection and the responsibilities of a medical educator. In light of this fact, the University of Kentucky created a Graduate Certificate in Anatomical Sciences Instruction in 2006. This 12‐credit hour curriculum includes detailed training in gross anatomy and/or neuroscience courses, practicum experiences, a seminar class in pedagogical literature, and a course in educational strategies for the anatomical sciences. The award of certificate completion affirms that the candidate has demonstrated faculty‐supervised proficiency in anatomy dissection, instruction in anatomy topics, and teaching strategies for anatomy. Seventeen graduate students have earned the certificate since its inception; nine students accepted teaching positions in anatomy following their graduate training and currently nine certificate graduates have assistant (six) or associate (three) professor positions in academia. In 2016, an anonymous survey including Likert‐style and open‐ended questions was emailed to all certificate graduates. Graduates favorably responded (each question averaged 4.4 or greater out of 5) that the certificate increased their awareness of teaching‐faculty responsibilities, adequately prepared them for teaching‐related duties, and positively contributed toward their first employment. Graduates indicated that the lecturing and dissection experience, awareness of faculty responsibilities, and job preparation (e.g., teaching philosophy development) were the most helpful aspects of the certificate. These results indicate that the Graduate Certificate in Anatomical Sciences Instruction is viewed by its graduates and their employers as a valuable teaching credential that can be attained alongside a basic science degree. Anat Sci Educ 11: 516–524. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.     

Graduate identity and employability

This paper develops the concept of graduate identity as a way of deepening the understanding of graduate employability. It does this through presenting research in which over 100 employers in East Anglia were asked to record their perceptions of graduates in respect of their employability. The findings suggest a composite and complex graduate identity, depending on employer size and sector. There is no one fixed identity for graduates. Nevertheless, certain themes emerged that seriously put into question the traditional model of graduate employability comprising skills, competencies and attributes. What emerges is a four‐stranded concept of identity that comprises value, intellect, social engagement and performance. Thus, when assessing the potential of graduates, performance is not the only criteria that employers take into account. Moreover, the four elements of identity are by no means independent of each other but are expected to interpenetrate producing a composite identity, with different employers emphasising different facets of this identity.

相似文献   

Higher Education and the Graduate Labour Market: The ‘Class Factor’

This article reviews the literature on the experiences of working‐class students at different stages of the student life cycle. It examines the factors influencing their participation rates in higher education (HE), their ability to adapt to university life, and their success in the graduate labour market. The article argues that without radical policies that fundamentally change the relationship between social class and pre‐HE qualifications, significant progress in widening participation is unlikely.     

Cultivating minority scientists: Undergraduate research increases self‐efficacy and career ambitions for underrepresented students in STEM

In this study, Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) is used to explore changes in the career intentions of students in an undergraduate research experience (URE) program at a large public minority‐serving college. Our URE model addresses the challenges of establishing an undergraduate research program within an urban, commuter, underfunded, Minority‐Serving Institution (MSI). However, our model reaches beyond a focus on retention and remediation toward scholarly contributions and shifted career aspirations. From a student's first days at the College to beyond their graduation, we have encouraged them to explore their own potential as scientists in a coordinated, sequential, and self‐reflective process. As a result, while the program's graduates have traditionally pursued entry‐level STEM jobs, graduates participating in mentored research are increasingly focused on professional and academic STEM career tracks involving post‐graduate study. In addition to providing an increasingly expected experience and building students’ skills, participation in undergraduate research is seen to have a transformative effect on career ambitions for many students at MSIs. While undergraduate research is often thought of in context of majority‐serving institutions, we propose that it serves as a powerful equalizer at MSIs. Building on the institutional characteristics that drive diversity, our students produce scholarly work and pursue graduate degrees, in order to address the long‐standing under‐representation of minorities in the sciences. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 54: 169–194, 2017     

Business graduate employability – where are we going wrong?

Persistent gaps in certain non-technical skills in business graduates continue to impact on organisational performance and global competitiveness. Despite business schools' best efforts in developing non-technical skills, widely acknowledged as fundamental to graduate employability, there has been considerably less attention to measuring skill outcomes and even less on their subsequent transfer to the workplace. It appears stakeholders are assuming transfer occurs automatically in graduates, neglecting the influence of learning program, learner and workplace characteristics on this complex process and its potential impact on graduate employability. This paper unpacks the concept of transfer and proposes a model of graduate employability that incorporates the process. Measures for empirical analysis are discussed. Testing the model would indicate the extent to which transfer occurs and highlight collaborative strategies for employers, universities and graduates in nurturing learning and workplace environments in which transfer may flourish, taking us one step closer to the elusive ‘work-ready’ graduate.     

Classification and framing in the case method: discussion leaders' questions

Basil Bernstein's classification and framing was adopted as a theoretical model to analyse the instruction of two university professors who incorporated case studies into their graduate business and education courses. Classification and framing allows for a meaningful analysis of the discussion leader's questions that facilitate students' understanding of a case. The investigation identified values related to the questioning process that purportedly fosters students' communication skills, critical‐thinking abilities, and problem‐solving skills in a case discussion. This study contributes to a growing body of literature that seeks a deeper understanding of the facilitator's role in case‐based discussions.     

Master of Professional Studies in Agriculture and Life Sciences offered through the Field of Food Science and Technology at Cornell University: A Model for the Development of a Course‐Based Graduate Degree in Food Science and Technology

The shortage of highly qualified graduates with advanced training in food science is a pressing problem facing government agencies and the food industry. This has created a need to recruit and train food scientists at the graduate level. However, most graduate level programs are research‐based and do not meet the needs of many students. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell Univ. has a Master of Professional Studies Program in Agriculture and Life Sciences (MPS‐ALS), which is offered through the Field of Food Science and Technology (FFST), as an alternative to research‐based masters and doctoral degrees. Although the MPS‐ALS program began in the 1970s, the FFST did not take an active role in recruiting students or tracking alumni until 2000. From 2000 to 2013, a total of 56 students, representing an internationally and academically diverse student body, have received MPS‐ALS degrees through the FFST. In May and August 2013, alumni were asked, via e‐mail, to complete an online survey to assess the long‐term impact of the MPS‐ALS program on their career success. The results of the survey indicate that the MPS‐ALS program at Cornell Univ. is a strong program that attracts excellent candidates from a variety of undergraduate fields. Program alumni have been very successful in obtaining full‐time employment, graduate positions and internships, and are highly satisfied with the program. The MPS‐ALS offered through the FFST at Cornell Univ. is a model for the development of course‐based graduate programs that seek to increase the supply of and meet the demand for trained professionals in food science.     

Conceptualizing a mentoring program for American Indian/Alaska Native students in the STEM fields: a review of the literature

In order to address the disparity of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) doctorates in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), culturally congruent mentorship program development is needed. Because traditional Western academic paradigms are typically constrained to a non-Indigenous perspective, the authors question how American Indian graduate students in STEM can successfully navigate graduate education with their cultural identity intact. Our review and synthesis of the literature addresses this question by considering 60 data sources that include peer-reviewed articles, personal communication with professionals working in the field of AI/AN academic success, and professional training literature. Our synthesis demonstrates that there is a dearth of Indigenous participation in the STEM fields that needs to be addressed by instituting a bicultural paradigm. This paradigm includes incorporating traditional academic mentoring into Indigenous values and kinship structures. A conceptual model is offered that delineates information necessary to conceptualize and develop an Indigenous mentoring program.