Interactive multimedia systems for engineering education in acoustics,synthesis and signal processing

This paper describes programmable multimedia systems, developed at the University of York, which are used extensively for teaching on a variety of music technology and mainstream engineering courses. Software and hardware systems are described for the physical modelling of acoustic spaces, and for constructing interactive synthesis and signal processing networks. Details are given on how these have been successfully integrated into higher education programmes at York.     

School-Level Environment and Student Outcomes in Mathematics

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a relationship exists between school-level environment and student outcomes. The study involved 620 teachers and 4645 students from 57 Australian secondary schools. Student outcome measures included mathematics achievement, career aspirations and students' attitudes and beliefs about success in mathematics. Teachers' perceptions of their school environment were measured using the School-Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ). Because previous research has shown that factors at the school level, such as environment, influence education at the classroom level, data regarding the instructional practices of teachers were included in the analysis in order to investigate this further. The results of these analyses show that various factors of the school-level environment were linked to improved student outcomes. Relationships were also found between teaching practices and student outcomes. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Diagrammatic representation and event memory in preschoolers

This study investigated the use of diagrammatic representation as an aid for recalling a past event for 30 4–5‐year‐olds in their preschool year prior to commencing primary school. The children were randomly placed into one of two groups: ‘talkers’ (verbal memory) or ‘drawers’ (diagrammatic memory). They were interviewed individually, both one day and one month after the event that involved making a much‐needed tool for a game at their preschool. Both interviews were conducted by a familiar adult through three different levels of engagement—neutral, verbal and visual. Results showed that a combination of drawing and specific questioning (‘verbal’ level of engagement) facilitated better recall of detail than either drawing or talking independently. No significant differences regarding accuracy of responses were found between the two groups.     

How graphic novels support reading comprehension strategy development in children

This qualitative case study explored the relationship between comprehension strategies and graphic novels in one Grade 4 classroom, utilising children as informants. The primary research questions related to children's applications of metacognitive reading comprehension strategies as well as the potential for graphic novels to support the students’ development as readers. Findings demonstrated that the children were able to apply two types of strategies to their reading of graphic novels: ‘keys’ that supported form‐specific comprehension strategies and ‘master keys’ that supported more general comprehension strategies that could be applied to other types of texts. Student preferences for graphic novels aligned with their preferences for reading narrative novels and non‐fiction, and did not align with preferences regarding comics or cartoons. Student preferences for reading graphic novels increased throughout the study. Fluent student responses to graphic novels through process drama were identified. Implications of the study involve the employment of graphic novels to support metacognitive strategies for reading and writing as well as to facilitate process drama.     

Validating a teaching survey which drives increased response rates in a unit survey

At Curtin University, student perceptions of teaching and learning are gathered and reported online through eVALUate, a system that includes separate unit and teaching surveys. This article reports the development and validation of one of those surveys, the eVALUate teaching survey, which was developed based on the research literature on excellent teaching and evaluation. Since its development in 2006, repeated statistical testing using progressively larger samples has shown that the survey is valid and reliable. Moreover, the way in which the teaching survey is deployed within eVALUate, appended to the unit survey, which provides crucial institutional data, has significantly increased university response rates. This validated instrument is used for self-reflection, professional development, and rewarding staff.     

Educational Broadcasting

Bernard Rubin's Media, Politics &;amp; Democracy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977- $8.00/4.00)

Forrest P. Chisman's Attitude Psychology and the Study of Public Opinion (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1977—$13.50)

Sidney Kraus, ed. The Great Debates: Kennedy vs. Nixon, 1960 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1977—$17.50/5.95)

Jean Schwoebel, Newsroom Democracy: The Case for Independence of the Press (Monograph Series No. 2, Iowa Center for Communication Study, School of Journalism, Yniversity of Iowa, Iowa City 52242—$2.50, paper)

Rex Winsbury, New Technology and the Journalist (Thomson Foundation Editorial Study Centre, Thomson House, Cardiff, CF1 1WR, Great Britain-75p or about $1.25, paper)

Laura Longley Babb, ed. The Editorial Page (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1977 &;ndash;price not given, paper)

Bob Roberts, for telling us about Magazine Studies Quarterly (MSQ Ltd., Box 2054, Muncie, Indiana 47302—about $5.00 per year for four issues)

Morgan Harris and Patti Karp's How to Make News and Influence People (Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.: TAB Books, 1976—$7.95, with a paperback edition available, for which no price given)

Alice Payne Hackett and James Henry Burke's 80 Years of Best Sellers: 1895-1975 (New York: R.R. Bowker, 1977—$14.95)

Mort Walker's Backstage at the Strips (New York: A&;amp;W Publishers, Inc., 95 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016—$6.95, paper)

Peter Haining's Terror: A History of Horror Illustrations from Pulp Magazines (New York: A&;amp;W Publishers, 1977—$12.50/6.95)     

Compounding Confusion? When Illustrative Practical Work Falls Short of its Purpose—A Case Study

Illustrative practical work is commonly used in chemistry education to enrich students?? understandings of chemical phenomena. However, it is possible that such practical work may not serve to foster understanding but rather cause further confusion. This paper reports the struggles experienced by a group of senior (Year 12) secondary chemistry students as they sought to understand redox chemical concepts involved in the reactions occurring when steel wool is added to copper sulfate solution. The results showed that the students lacked the skills required to make accurate observations during the practical work. Nor were they able to link the observed phenomena with previously taught redox concepts. The paper also presents possible ways to overcome the difficulties encountered by students as they move between macroscopic and submicroscopic levels of representation of redox reactions.     

Graduate attributes for 2020 and beyond: recommendations for Australian higher education providers

Given global uncertainty related to rapid technological developments and the world of work, alongside other equally (if not more) concerning social and political disruptions – the assurance of graduate attributes of importance to employability and citizenship are arguably more important than ever. In this paper, we investigate three areas of practice by Australian universities, and non-university higher education providers who have been omitted from past analyses of this kind. First, we examine the graduate attributes most frequently published by institutions and discipline groups and whether emphasis has changed over time. Second, we investigate how graduate attributes are assured, including a scan of the inputs put in practice by higher education providers, and comparison of graduate and employer perceptions of achievement gathered through recent national surveys. Third, we connect our findings in the first two areas and make recommendations for the attributes needed to equip 2020+ graduates for citizenship and employability. Based on these analyses, we recommend that all providers, university and non-university, and the discipline groups within them: make graduate attributes more visible to the public and especially to students; continue embedding them in the assessed curricula, but also ensure that assessment is explicit and that attributes are communicated and explained repeatedly throughout the course; continue to use stakeholder perception measures, but more consistently align skills in data collection instruments to allow a more constructive comparison, and also draw on more objective measures such as actual assessment of achievement; continue to emphasise attributes associated with global citizenship, teamwork and communication; give more emphasis to independence, critical thinking and problem-solving, and the fundamental foundational skills of written and spoken communication. Most importantly, continue to revise the attributes regularly to ensure fitness for purpose in the rapidly changing environment within which we and our graduates operate.